Melchiorre Delfico (caricaturist)

Baron Melchiorre De Filippis Delfico (1825 – 22 December 1895) was an Italian artist, composer, singer, conductor, writer, librettist and a master of the Neapolitan art of caricature who inspired, among others, Carlo Pellegrini.

Melchiorre Delfico, the 'Prince of Caricaturists', is best remembered today for his caricatures of notable personalities, both in his native Italy and later in England, where he worked under the name 'Delfico' for Vanity Fair, a society magazine. Among the many characters portrayed by Delfico's agile and ironic pen were emperors, nobles and prelates, artists and critics from the world of opera and theatre, and above all his great friend Giuseppe Verdi, who knew him as a musician but who also enjoyed his caricatures.

One of nine children born to Gregorio and Marina De Filippis Delfico, the Delficos were an family from Teramo in Italy. In his autobiography, Delfico says that as a child he was taught the liberal arts, learning music from the age of seven. Also according to the autobiography, in 1835, then 10 years, he discovered a "penchant for caricature." In 1839, at age 14, he commenced the formal study of Art in Teramo under Pasquale Della Monica.

In 1841, aged 16, Delfico moved to Naples to commence his studies in the Humanities under the guidance of the renowned professor and Latin poet Antonio Mirabelli. At this time the young Delfico began writing poetry and painting, but his great love was music. In 1844 he composed his first musical work, The Jailer of 1793, to a libretto by Domenico Bolognese. In the summer of 1845 this was staged at the Teatro Nuovo. In 1847 Delfico's father died.

According to his autobiography, from 1847 Delfico had already begun to sell his cartoons, often receiving a request from a client who wished to be caricatured. But at this time caricature was still a hobby for Delfico, and probably the idea of turning it into an opportunity to earn a living pulled against his aristocratic upbringing, despite the fact that he actually needed the money to support himself. He published his first printed caricature in 1855 in an Italian pictorial publication named Omnibus, founded by the journalist and critic Vincenzo Torelli. Delfico composed and staged two further plays at this time, The Husband of One Hour in 1850, and The Board of Recruiters of 1853.

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