Piccio

The Profile

Giovanni Carnovali (1804–1873), known as il Piccio, was an Italian 19th-century painter noted for portraiture and a fluid, innovative brushwork that some critics link as anticipating later developments in painting.

Born 1804, died 1873; Italian painter; nicknamed il Piccio; active in the 19th century; worked in portraiture, sacred subjects and mythological themes; associated with Romantic-era Italian painting and noted for a fluid, expressive technique.

The single DeBaser review discusses Giovanni Carnovali (il Piccio) and the Milan exhibition "Un grande piccolo," highlighting his innovative, fluid brushwork and his role as a 19th‑century portraitist whose handling of paint anticipates later developments. The review places Piccio in social and historical context and notes underappreciation by contemporaries.