Carlo Bossoli

Carlo Bossoli, born in Lugano and later active in Italy, was a Swiss-born Italian painter and lithographer. His early career was spent in Russia, but he is best known for historical scenes from the Risorgimento. His father, an Italian stonemason, moved the family to Odessa, where Bossoli began his artistic training under Rinaldo Nannini at the Odessa Opera. His talent caught the attention of Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, leading to commissions and study in Italy. Bossoli’s work encompasses a variety of themes, including the Crimean War and the Second Italian War of Independence, gaining popularity through published albums and lithographs. He spent his final years in Turin, where he died in 1884.

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Carlo Bossoli was commissioned by young Prince Oddone, Duke of Montferrat, to follow the Piedmontese Army and create a record of its campaigns, resulting in an album of 150 tempera paintings. The Prince hailed him as "the painter of our history.

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