Background
He was born in Genoa, but his family moved to Livorno then Florence.
He was born in Genoa, but his family moved to Livorno then Florence.
As a boy, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and studied under Pietro Benvenuti.
After having taken part in the wars of 1813-1814 under the Napoleonic armies. being present at the battle at Paris, he returned to Turin and Genoa, and in 1824 went to Florence and Rome. He gained acclaim as an excellent painter of miniature portraits. In Rome, he befriended leaders of the Neoclassical trends: Camuccini, Thordwalsen, Tenerani, d"Azeglio, Monti, Bassi, and Missirini.
Returning to Florence, he was patronized by English travelers to the city.
The portraits in oil afterwards executed by him there and later in England are painted in the style of the Italian and Dutch masters. Richard Buckner and Crispini (painter) were among his pupils.
An engraving depicting Maria Teresa, Queen of Sardinia, is found in the Royal Collections of England.