Luigi De Angelis

Marina, 1954, oil on cardboard, 57×72 cm

He was born in Rome in 1883, but spent his entire life on the island of Ischia. His parents, originally from the island, returned there shortly after his birth. Due to the limited economic resources at his disposal, he began to paint the landscape in front of him every day with simple watercolors on butcher paper, hanging them in his shop. It was there that the German painter Hans Purrmann noticed them, allowing him to exhibit both in Italy and abroad. De Angelis' painting style remained practically unchanged throughout his life, also because it was inseparably linked to the island he never wanted to leave. This greatly affected his career, as he refused various invitations to exhibit in both France and Germany, which kept him poor until his death in 1966.