Giuseppe de Nittis grew up wealthy. He was born in 1846, in a small town called Barletta (in today’s Apulia). His outspoken father sent him to study under the painter Giovanni Battista Caló, and De Nittis soon proved he was a prodigy. After study in Naples, he left Italy for France, where Impressionists were in ascendence. During the 1870s and 80s, De Nittis painted among them, though his plein air scenes and urban scapes were steeped in realism. In 1884, he died of a stroke at only 38. The Phillips Collection presents approximately 70 artworks spanning the breadth of his career. —Elena Clavarino