Fausto Zonaro was born in Padua on 18 September 1854. He first trained as an apprentice bricklayer, but he showed a natural talent and passion for painting and left his apprenticeship to attend the Verona Academy of Fine Arts. After completing his military service, he went on to study at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Rome. His first exhibition opened in 1885, was well received, and in 1888 a new exhibition of his work was held in Paris. He worked as both painter and decorator in Venice and Naples over the next two years, receiving commissions from the nobility. He was also awarded a knighthood by the king.

Fausto Zonaro was a key figure among a small but important group of Italian Orientalist painters that...