# Antonio Fontanesi artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/antonio-fontanesi/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T12:41:00.000Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Italian
- Movements: Romanticism, French Barbizon School stylistic context, Modern Japanese yōga painting context
- Common media: Oil painting, Engraving, Drawing

## Portrait

![Antonio Fontanesi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Antonio_fontanesi%2C_primi_del_%27900.JPG)
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_fontanesi,_primi_del_%27900.JPG

## About Antonio Fontanesi

Antonio Fontanesi (1818–1882) was an Italian painter and engraver whose career connects nineteenth-century European art with the early development of Western-style painting in Japan. Public authority records consistently identify his nationality, profession, and lifespan. Biographical sources associate his work with Romanticism and the stylistic orbit of the French Barbizon School. Fontanesi lived in Meiji-period Japan from 1876 to 1878, where he is associated with the introduction of European oil-painting methods and the formation of modern Japanese yōga painting. This cross-cultural role gives his work significance beyond a single national school. Collectors may encounter paintings, drawings, and engraved works under his name, while institutional catalogues and authority files document a broader scholarly record devoted to his work and legacy. Careful object-level research remains important because medium, date, attribution, and the evidence linking an object to a particular phase of his career can materially change its historical context.

## Common works and media

Public records identify Fontanesi as both a painter and engraver, while bibliographic catalogues also document drawings. Auction and appraisal inquiries may therefore involve oil paintings, drawings or other works on paper, and engraved prints. The collected evidence does not establish specific print editions, recurring subjects, or a complete catalogue of formats, so the medium, technique, authorship, and edition status of each object should be independently confirmed.

## Market and appraisal context

Fontanesi's auction record should be assessed by medium and object type. Oil paintings, drawings, and engravings belong to different comparative groups, so results from one category should not automatically be applied to another. A documented date or substantiated connection to his 1876–1878 residence in Japan may add scholarly context, but that relationship should be demonstrated rather than assumed. Attribution, provenance, condition, and any edition information for prints also require object-specific verification. Appraisily's input identifies a substantial directory of auction records, but the collected research pack does not expose enough lot-level detail to support a price trend or prediction. A defensible appraisal should therefore compare the object with appropriately catalogued, dated public sales.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine public artist-identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. This profile separates verified authority data from contextual claims that still require object-level research.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1081011
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/47034101/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500006095
- IdRef: https://www.idref.fr/055301894
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Fontanesi
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/antonio-fontanesi/