Rediscovering Serafino Macchiati, Italian painter celebrated in France

Serafino Macchiati (1861–1916), a painter and illustrator from Camerino, Italy, achieved greater recognition in France than in his home country. Born in the Marche region, he moved to Rome in 1880, where he associated with Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, and Sibilla Aleramo, exploring social and political issues. Initially focused on painting, he shifted to illustration in Milan, working for Sonzogno and Treves, and gained prominence with four years at Tribuna Illustrata (1892–96). In 1898, he moved to Paris at the invitation of publisher Lemerre, illustrating novels by Paul Bourget. He collaborated with French publishers Lemerre, Laffitte, Hachette, Fayard, and periodicals like Le Figaro Illustré and Lectures pour tous, also working as a set designer and returning to painting in a post-impressionist style. Despite commissions like illustrating Dante's Divine Comedy for Alinari in 1902 and participating in the Venice Biennale in 1901 and 1907, he died in Paris in 1916 from a sudden illness. Posthumous recognition came with a monographic room curated by Vittorio Pica at the 1922 Venice Biennale, featuring 32 works.