Filippo Colarossi (21 April 1841 – 25 August 1906) was an Italian artist's model and sculptor who founded the Académie Colarossi in Paris between 1879 and 1880.
Biography
Leaving Italy Colarossi was born on 21 April 1841 in Picinisco,See Filippo Colarossi's birth certificate here: https://antenati.cultura.gov.it
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Archivio di Stato di Caserta > Stato civile napoleonico e della restaurazione > Picinisco(provincia di Frosinone) > 1841
Direct link 07/10-2025: https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua20371250/5K6QP4P a small, mountain village, approximately 120 km.(75 mi.) to the east of Rome, in what was the Terra di Lavoro, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Born to Fiori Colarossi (1779–1853)Antenati Gli Archivi per la Ricerca Anagrafica http://www.antenati.san.beniculturali.it Home› Sfoglia i registri› Archivio di Stato di Caserta› Stato civile napoleonico e della restaurazione› Picinisco(provincia di Frosinone)› Morti› 1853› 184.16411› Immagine 3 Home› Sfoglia i registri› Archivio di Stato di Caserta› Stato civile napoleonico e della restaurazione› Picinisco(provincia di Frosinone)› Morti› 1853 › 184.16411› Immagine 45 > Entry no. 75 and his wife Anna (; 1811–?),.1841 Parish census of Picinisco, entry 338 - Colarossi di Settefrati - copy obtained via genealogist Ann Tatangelo, Sora, Italy, 2013, angelresearch.net During the Unification of Italy, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies fell to the troops led by nationalist and anti-papal general Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882), whereupon it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy and asset stripped. As a Catholic and loyal royal marine, this was an unwelcome outcome to Colarossi's elder brother Angelo (1836–1916); thus, in late 1860 or in 1861, they made their way, mostly by steam boat (Naples–Marseille, then Avignon–Lyon), to Paris, France, to escape widespread poverty and obligatory military conscription. It seems another brother, Antonio (1837–?), was waiting there to welcome and help them.Registres d'actes d'état civil (1860-1902), Acte de Mariage, 6e arr, 26-07-1866, No. 515, Colarossi et Margiotta, Archives numérisées de Paris, Mairie de Paris, paris.fr - Antonio is a witness
Paris and modelling The Colarossi brothers left a life in rural Italy to start afresh in a foreign, capital city. In his article, "L'Italie-Mouffetard", the journalist Jules Lermina indicates that they took up residence in the Rue Mouffetard quarter where many Italians lived. Accommodation was very cheap in this insalubrious and ill reputed part (one of 17 "Îlots insalubres parisiens") of Paris.
Challenges such as the language, accommodation and paid work would have to be addressed. They had also arrived in Paris at a tumultuous time in the city's history.
In the 1860s, the city was in rapid growth in terms of population, geographical boundaries, industry, commerce and cultural activity. Starting in 1853, Napoleon III (1808–1873) and his prefect of the Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann (1809–1891), had initiated an extensive series of public works projects to clean up, rebuild and modernise the capital. Old blocks of buildings were demolished. High-rise apartment houses with classical facades, wide boulevards, new sewers and more were built.
Like Antonio before them, both brothers soon found employment as models for artists. This was hard work as poses had to be inspiring and held for long periods of time. Nudity also conflicted with societal norms of modesty and propriety. Nonetheless, Filippo chose to remain a model in Paris, which was fast becoming the Mecca of the Fine Arts, while Angelo left for London, England, in 1864, where he continued his newfound occupation, started a family and became an Urban District Councillor. His son, Angelo Colarossi Jr., was also a model in London and posed for the sculptor Alfred GilbertScott Thomas Buckle, "A Waterhouse Sketch Discovered", In: The Art and Life of John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) — . amongst others.
Filippo Colarossi became a very ambitious and successful model, not least at the (Imperial School of Fine Arts) on the Left Bank, where he drew an annual, retaining fee of 500 francs. Here, he soon acquired the titles of Fuss-Amoré, Gustave et des Ombiaux, Maurice, Montparnasse (II, fin), Mercure de France, 15 November 1924, p. 107 and later . He was also a favourite model of the classicist painter Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815–1891), who he met when staying at Saint-Germain-en-Laye to escape the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871).
In what has been described as a fraught and arduous life, Colarossi also found time to marry and start a family of his own. On 21 July 1866, he married Ascenza Margiotta (1847–1896),Archives de Paris, Marriages, 6ème Arr., V4E 711, 21/07/1866, No. 515 herself a model and native of Picinisco. In April of the same year, their first child, Ernest Flore (1866–1960) was born. They later had two girls, Maria (1868–1913) and Malia (1871–1897),Ernest Flore Colarossi, Actes d'état civil, Naissances, 6e arr Paris, No. 1103, 27-04-1866, Marie de Paris, paris.fr. Has an annotation recording Ernest's death 11 April 1960 in the commune of Versailles. Maria Colarossi, Actes d'état civil, Naissances, 6e arr Paris, No. 1363, 02-06-1868, Marie de Paris, paris.fr Maria Colarossi femme Hiolle, Actes de l'État Civil, Actes de décès de la commune de Sceaux pour l'an 1913, No 44, Document E_NUM_SCE_D1913, archives.hauts-de-seine.net Malia Colarossi, Registres d'état-civil, Naissances, Poissy, No. 31, 21-04-1871, Archives des Yvelines, archives.yvelines.fr Malia Ravelet née Colarossi, Registre d'actes, Décès, 1893-1897, Arcueil, Archives de Val-de-Marne, archives.valdemarne.fr who both married artists.
Colarossi Academy
Colarossi wanted to establish his own school where he could provide an art education for the many students, male and female, that were flocking to Paris.
Henri Duval writes that Colarossi had through 'economy and right living' saved the funds necessary to set up a school. He may also have had financial help as The Artist – An Illustrated Monthly Record of Arts, Crafts and Industries asserts that the wealthy Meissonier helped him to get started in an art school, perhaps by giving him an advance.
So, Colarossi purchased the then renowned . This academy was established by the model and painter of miniatures Martin François Suisse (1781–1859) at 4, Quai des Orfèvres on the Île de la Cité, Paris in 1817.
In 1858, Suisse had retired and left his academy to a nephew, while remaining an honorary professor. However, it was the artist Étienne Prosper Crébassol (1806–1883)From Filae.com, 8 juillet 2021.
Archives Départementales de Paris
Décès
Le 04 juin 1883
Paris 9EME (Paris, Paris)
Individu concerné: Etienne Prosper CREBASSOL, No. 878
NB.:
Sépulture
Le 05 juin 1883
Cimetière parisien de Saint-Ouen (93) ((Saint-Ouen) Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis)
Inhumation that soon took on the ownership, certainly the running, of the academy, renaming it . Suisse died in 1859 at his home, aged 78.
Passe writes that in 1876 the were more-or-less limited to in the Passage des Panoramas (see Crombie) and Crébassol's insufficient, little course in Rue Gît-le-Cœur. He makes no mention of the (see below), the renowned art school, so it is doubtful it had been established. Indeed, advertisements for the school did not appear in newspapers until 1881 and 1882. Furthermore, an article in , 1882, refers to "" ("the new free academy"). Assertions of an earlier purchase date sometime around 1870, are made further implausible by the disruptions of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune (1871).
It would seem that Crébassol had moved the school to No. 12, Rue Gît-le-Cœur, 6th arrondissement, over the river from the Quai des Orfèvres. Passe further states that two years later in 1879 the aged Crébassol sold his studio to Colarossi for the sum of 500 francs. Crébassol was by this time 73 years old and was presumably no longer able and/or willing to maintain his academy any longer. He died at home in 1883.From Filae.com, 8 juillet 2021. Archives Départementales de Paris. Décès: 04 juin 1883, Paris 9EME. Individu concerné: Etienne Prosper CREBASSOL, No. 878 NB.: Sépulture: 05 juin 1883, Cimetière parisien de Saint-Ouen (93) ((Saint-Ouen) Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis) Inhumation
Colarossi first renamed his acquisition ("Academy of the Rose"),Noël, Benoît et Hournon, Jean, Parisiana: la capitale des peintres au XIXème siècle, Les Presse Franciliennes, Paris, 2006, p. 134 later renaming it . In 1880, he transferred its premises to 10 Rue de la Grande Chaumière in Montparnasse (6th arrondissement). where he had added six studios to his newly acquired rear courtyard premises behind a certain Miss Bonnefoy's grocery store. A Miss Ross who attended the academy in 1889, describes the entrance to the building:"... the Colarossi. The school in which I chose to study, is situated in the Latin Quarter. Entering from the street one walks through a narrow arched passage on which open the kitchens of the adjoining houses. Then into an open square court fitted up with statues and plants and bounded by houses whose facades are ornamented with weather-stained busts and casts. One of the four-storied buildings making the side of the court is the school. ..."Colarossi was also to establish annexes, for example, at 96 Rue Blanche (9th arrondissement), 13 Rue Washington (8th arrondissement) for ladies only, and, most prominently, at 43 Avenue Victor Hugo (16th arrondissement).Ayral-Clause, Odile. Camille Claudel: A Life. Plunkett Lake Press. Pub. 2002, .
Colarossi wanted his academy to be a progressive school where one could get training that was not available at the more conservative . Women and men could share classes, and women were also allowed to draw and paint nude models, both male and female. Colarossi was from the start a firm believer in mixed classes as it was an advantage to both men and women to be able to watch, compare and discuss each other's work.
There was no entrance exam, but there were fees to be paid. Here, equality between the sexes was less apparent. Most schools demanded higher fees of their female students, than their male counterparts. For example, to study at the Colarossi Academy, Rue de la Grande Chaumière, the following fees applied in 1887:
for men, one month, day 16 francs, evening 15 francs for women, one month, day 20 francs, evening 20 francs
The usual explanation for the difference was that the attendance of women could not be relied upon. Women often remained for a month or two, but men tended to stay for years, many having the intention of seeking entry to the . Most women were not studying professionally, so their luxury was set at a higher price.
It must be remembered that only in 1897, after a long and heated campaign by activists, were women finally allowed to sit the entrance exam to the and perhaps be one of the few to study there for free, albeit with some restrictions. In 1900, female students were admitted on a more-or-less equal footing with male students, though they were not allowed to enter the competition for the prestigious Prix de Rome until 1903.
Notable students of the academy included Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), Claude-Émile Schuffenecker (1851–1934), Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946), Camille Claudel (1864–1943), Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939), Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) and others.
Colarossi's considerable experience and status as a leading model allowed him to recruit the best of models, many from his native Lazio region of Italy. Penelope Little states that Colarossi actively enticed his impoverished countrymen to Paris where they could provide a constant and plentiful supply of affordable models. In 1880, a list of models in Paris recorded that of 671 models, 230 were Italian, the rest being of various nationalities.