Monticelli, Adolphe [key], 1824–86, French painter. He worked in Paris and, after 1870, in his native Marseilles. Influenced by Watteau and Delacroix, he portrayed subjects usually of a festive or exotic nature. He has been regarded as a prophet of abstract expressionism because of his free use of dazzling colors applied with a heavy impasto. His work is best represented in Lille and Marseilles. The museums of Boston, Chicago, New York City, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., have examples of his painting. The Fête Châmpetre (Brooklyn Mus.) is characteristic.
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