Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo

Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo RHA (1941 – 1989), known as Niccolo or Nick Caracciolo, was an Irish artist known for his portraits and landscapes.[1]

For the viceroy of Peru, see Carmine Nicolao Caracciolo.

Niccolo Caracciolo
Born
Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo

18 September 1941
Dublin, Ireland
Died16 December 1989(1989-12-16) (aged 48)
NationalityIrish
Known forpainter

Early life and family

Born in Dublin on 18 September 1941,[2] he was the only son of Ferdinando Caracciolo, Prince of Cursi, a member of an old Italian family, originally from Naples.[3][4] His mother was Mary Purcell-Fitzgerald[5] of The Island, near Waterford, now Waterford Castle, where he was reared.[3][6] The artist Maria Levinge is his sister,[7] who he tutored in art.[8] He had another sister, Francesca.[5]

After being educated at The Oratory School in Woodcote, England,[5] he went to Florence at the age of 19 to study art at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze at the suggestion of Pietro Annigoni, studying under Signorina Nera Simi. He continued to keep a house in Tuscany for the rest of his life, travelling back and forth to Ireland.[3]

Career

In 1964 Caracciolo was one of the painters chosen to paint a replica of the Sistine Chapel for the scenery of the 1965 film The Agony and the Ecstasy, on the life of Michelangelo.[7] Becoming a noted portrait painter, among those who sat for him were Lord Iveagh, J. P. Donleavy, Anthony Bygraves, and Sir Marc Cochrane.[3]

From 1975 to 1978 he lived at Rosemount House, near Moate, County Westmeath, where he painted many scenes of the surrounding countryside[9] and exhibited at the Lad Lane Gallery in Dublin in 1978. He also exhibited at the Holly Solomon Gallery in New York.[4][5]

In 1983 he became an associate Member of the Royal Hibernian Academy and in 1984 a full member of the Royal Hibernian Academy.[3]

Death and legacy

Caracciolo died near Siena, Italy in a road accident on 16 December 1989.[2] He is buried at Calvary Cemetery Bunclody, County Wexford.[7] The Don Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo RHA Medal and Award is awarded in his memory.[1][10]

References
  1. "National Irish Visual Arts Library: Caracciolo, Niccolo". www.nival.ie. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  2. "Calvary Cemetery Bunclody". www.bunclody.net. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  3. "Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciola: Irish Landscape Artist, Portraitist". Visual Arts Cork. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  4. "Dublin through the eyes of an idealistic artist". The Irish Times. 22 May 1999. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  5. MacG., C. (1 January 1990). "Nick Caracciolo, RHA (Don Niccolo D' Ardia Caracciolo)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  6. "D'ARDIA". www.famiglienobilinapolitane.it. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  7. McNally, Frank (1 February 2012). "An Irishman's Diary". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  8. "Maria Levinge". The Kilkenny Art Gallery. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  9. "Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo 1941 - 1989, Irish Artist". adams.ie. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  10. "Royal Hibernian Academy of Art (RHA), Ireland". www.visual-arts-cork.com. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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