BENVENUTI, PIETRO. – Painter, born in Arezzo on 8 January 1769, died in Florence on 3 February 1844. From 1782 to 1804 he lived in Rome, where he studied under Camuccini and the Danish artist A. J. Carstens. From 1804 he directed the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. His paintings are numerous: The Martyrdom of s. Donato (1794, Arezzo Cathedral), the Martyrdom of b. Signoretto Alliata (1802, Pisa Cathedral), The Triumph of Judith (1803, Arezzo Cathedral), the Stories of the Old and New Testament (1827–36, frescoes in S. Lorenzo in Florence) clearly demonstrate his manner, which is characterized by assurance of composition and correctness of drawing, but lacks any marked sensitivity to color.
The finest part of his work consists of the portraits (The Court of Elisa Baciocchi, from 1813, in the museum at Versailles, the Autoriratto in the Uffizi, etc.).