Italian painter born in Catania. Initially trained with his father, the painter Giuseppe Rapisardi, he then studied in Rome where he won a number of prizes at the Accademia di San Luca. After four years he traveled to Florence, Venice, then Paris. He was eclectic and prolific, among his works: An Episode of the 1301 Siege of Messina; The main Italian Poets at the Court of Frederico II in SiciIy; Vatti a far monaca!; Hamlet scene; La prima sventura di Luigi Camoens; Le castellane e il menestrello; Il trovatore cacciato in bando; Dante and Beatrice; The escape of Bianca Cappello; Le maggiolate; Ophelia Crazed; I Vespri Siciliani. He also painted for a number of churches in his Catania, with paintings such as San Benedetto; L’Immacolata; La cena in Emaus; Il sacrifìcio di Gedeone; San Vito; Le Vergini di Sion; San Luigi Gonzaga; L’Addolorata; Sant’Agata in jail. Rapisardi was criticized for the anacronism of his costumes.
Read More: Art Finding, http://www.artfinding.com/74777/Biography/Rapisardi-Michele
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