The Dawn of Political Portraiture in Italy

In the second half of the nineteenth century, portraiture in Italy only concerned the most significant figures of the Risorgimento, such as king Victor Emmanuel II and the ‘Hero of the two Worlds’ Giuseppe Garibaldi. However, the need to represent one’s political identity and culture, a need that arose with the appearance on the political scene of anarcho-socialist movements, as well as mainstream parties, led to a growing use of portraiture. The propaganda of Andrea Costa, who became in 1882 the first Socialist deputy, is a case in point. The popularity he enjoyed as leader was partly the result of the range of pictorial material (postcards, cartoons, official portraits, illustrated publications aimed at the public at large) that his party produced to promote him. The election of 1913, the first held in Italy with an expanded suffrage, saw the introduction of ballot papers featuring the candidates’ portraits, together with their respective party symbols in colour. Political portraiture became part and parcel of political language.