Page 42 - Life In Naples March 2022 Flipbook

Artist.

Author.

Teacher.

—A Naples Triple Threat

by Dave Trecker

arco Bronzini is a rarity in the art world. Most
performers – and believe me, all art is a performance
M– excel at one thing. They are musicians or painters
or writers. They make their bones in one field and one field only.
That’s how and why they are known.
Not so Marco Bronzini. He is a renowned painter, with
canvases in the Paul Mellon Collection, the Morse Museum of
American Art and many private collections, including those of the
Astor and Guinness families.
And he is a published author, with two novels to his credit and
a marvelous how-to book, “The Ten Commandments of Fine Art.”
But don’t stop there. Marco is also an accomplished teacher.
Just ask his many students. His studio at 2950 Tamiami Trail
North is a meeting place for aspiring painters and many
experienced ones trying to get better.
Marco has been in Naples since 1998 when he opened his
first art school here. He’s been around for a while. So what’s new?
What raised his profile just now? Marco’s Naples studio is a blaze of color, with bold canvases
The answer is the recent publication of “Vizcaya,” a fictional that reflect his personality. His work is interspersed with paintings
rendering of a journey back in time in James Deering’s famous by his students, now 70 strong and growing.
Coconut Grove mansion. The book is attracting national attention. I asked him about his philosophy of teaching art. He said,
It’s his second, following “The Sun Fisher,” a novel published in “Each artist has his own identity. I never try to teach them to paint
2020. like me. Each has his own style. That must be allowed to grow.”
For those who don’t know Marco Bronzini, his biography is He’s proactive in his teaching. I watched him move from easel
an intriguing one. Born in Provence in the south of France in to easel, pointing things out, making suggestions, occasionally
1957, he began art studies at the age of 16 with the sculptor John adding a brushstroke of his own. And true to his philosophy, every
Skeaping, then moved to London where he later graduated from single canvas reflected a different style. The atmosphere was low
the Royal Academy of Arts. He married, came to the U.S. and key and positive, and his students all seemed happy to be there.
obtained his citizenship in 1989. Longtime student Addie Castaldo agrees. “Marco is always
encouraging. He’s quite remarkable in bringing out your individual
talent. He gently suggests, then let’s you make the call.”
I asked Marco what his greatest accomplishment was. His
answer: “Building up the art school and studio from scratch.”
He started with three students. He estimates he’s had some 400
over the years, including many in Orlando where he taught before
coming to Naples. He goes back to Orlando once a month. “They
won’t let me get away,” he said.
And Marco continues to paint and write. The passion is
T
The Trustees Emeriti of thehe Trustees Emeriti of the evident, but he said discipline is just as important. When I asked
him what his greatest regret was, he said, “Not taking myself
seriously as an artist. I wasted many years.”
He’s not wasting any more. In addition to adding to his
considerable body of paintings, he’s building his writing career and
is now 130,000 words into his third novel.
And, of course, he’s continuing to shape the skills of his many
grateful students.
A triple threat indeed.

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