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Carlo
Pellegrini (25 March 1839 – 22 January 1889), who did much of his work under
the pseudonym of Ape (Italian for "bee"), was an artist who served from 1869
to 1889 as a caricaturist for Vanity Fair magazine, a leading journal
of London society. He was born in Capua, then in the Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies. His father came from an ancient land-owning family, while his mother
was allegedly descended from the Medici. His work for the magazine made his
reputation and he became its most influential artist.
Pellegrini was educated at the Collegio Barnibiti, and then at Sant'
Antonio in Maddaloni, near Naples. As a young man he caricatured Neapolitan
society, modelling his portraits on those of Melchiorre Delfico and Daumier
and other French and British artists of the period. Pellegrini claimed to have
fought with Garibaldi; however, those who knew him well dismissed this as
fantasy.
Deciding to leave Italy in 1864 after a series of personal crises,
including the death of his sister, he travelled to England via Switzerland and
France. He arrived in London in November 1864; he later claimed to have
arrived destitute, and to have slept on the streets and in doorways. However,
this claim may have been another fantasy designed to make him seem to be a
Bohemian artist. In London he became a friend of the Prince of Wales.[1]
It is not recorded how Pellegrini met Thomas Bowles, the owner of Vanity
Fair magazine, but he quickly found himself employed by that publication
and became its first caricaturist, originally signing his work as 'Singe' and
later, and more famously, as 'Ape' (Italian for Bee). Pellegrini's work for
the magazine made his reputation and he became its most influential artist, in
which his caricatures were to be printed for over twenty years, from January
1869 to April 1889. His 1869 caricature of Benjamin Disraeli was the first
colour lithograph to appear in the magazine, and proved immensely popular. It
was the first of a highly successful series of more than two thousand
caricatures published by Vanity Fair. Although the later caricatures by
Sir Leslie Ward are perhaps now more well known, those by 'Ape' are regarded
by many collectors as being artistically and technically superior.
Apart from drawing his caricatures for the magazine, Pellegrini also
attempted to set himself up as a portrait painter, but this venture met with
limited success. Pellegrini met Degas in London in the 1870s, and in about
1876–77 painted his portrait, inscribed 'à vous/Pellegrini' (to
you/Pellegrini). In return, Degas painted Pellegrini's portrait, similarly
inscribed.
Pellegrini was a member of the Beefsteak Club in London and there met
Whistler, who became a great influence on his work; indeed, he even attempted
to paint portraits in the style of Whistler. Pellegrini was also a member of
The Arts Club from 1874 until 1888.
Pellegrini was extremely careful about his appearance, and would wear
immaculate white spats with highly polished boots. He grew long Mandarin-like
fingernails, would never walk when he could ride, and had a limitless fund of
amusing stories and eccentricities. He spoke broken-English, flaunted his
homosexuality (at a time when it was dangerous to do so), and would often
bring macaroni dishes to elegant dinner parties. He would refuse invitations
to country houses out of fear of strange beds, and had a habit of keeping a
cigar in his mouth as he slept.[2]
He died of lung disease at his home, 53 Mortimer Street, near Cavendish
Square in London. He is buried in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kensal
Green, London.
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Pellegrini_(caricaturist)