Ettore Tito, Painter of Contemporary Life

Ettore Tito's paintings celebrated the daily life of the Italian people, often showing them in rich color and dynamic action.

Born in southern Italy, the son of a sea captain, he worked his way toward the English and French-speaking art markets, where the money was, and where new ideas of art were in the air.

Ettore Tito, Le mondine in Polesine, 1885

In this scene, he carefully manages the light, as a cloud shadow passes over the foreground. The shoes of the waders are lined up on the bank. The wind blows the skirts of the central figure, and she holds her hat from blowing off. Note the lady with the red hat mostly overlapped by the standing figure.

When his work was exhibited at the Pan-Pacific Exhibition in San Francisco, he was awarded the top prize in Italian painting, and there was a popular exhibition of 18 of his paintings in Los Angeles. 

He had versatile skills and produced work in a range of categories, including portraits. 

Ettore Tito, Raggi di Sole (Rays of Sun) 1892

His friends included John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Ludwig Passini, Luigi Nono, and Mariano Fortuny.

Ettore Tito, Pagine d'amore (Pages of Love)

According to the Studio magazine from 1905, "In Paris he even found himself looked on as chic, and the fashionable painter of the day. He used to come to London almost annually; he worked for the “Graphic” and also for the American magazine “Scribner's.”

He produced a series of risqué illustrations of proverbs with a contemporary flair. This one says "Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera" (Heaven helps those who help themselves). 

Ettore Tito, Amore e le Parche (Love and the Fates), 1909

In his later career he was inspired by 18th century Venetian painting to paint symbolic and allegorial subjects.

Ettore Tito on Wikipedia (1851—1941)
Art Contrarian Ettore Tito
Another blog post on Ettore Tito
Book on Ettore Tito (old book in Italian)