Petrocelli was born in
Cervaro in the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (now in the
Province of Frosinone in
Lazio). His father died when he was young. From 1837 or about 1841 he studied at the
Reale Istituto di Belle Arti in Naples, where he made copies of
Old Masters and painted literary and historical subjects. His debut came at the Royal Bourbon Exhibition of 1839. He participated again on several occasions, notably in 1841 (
The Death of Galeazzo Sforza), 1848 (
Isabella of Florence) and 1851 (
A Family of Neophytes Surprised by the Praetorian Guard). Over the next decade, he would focus more on genre scenes. From 1862 until his death, he was a regular contributor to exhibitions at the "Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts". After 1873, he also exhibited in
Genoa and
Milan. His largest showing came in 1877 at the National Exhibition in Naples, which was visited by King
Victor Emmanuel II. Shortly after, he and several others were chosen to create a series of frescoes at the
Temple of St. Francis in
Gaeta; designed many years before by his former fellow student,
Domenico Morelli. The project was never completed. His sons
Achille and
Arturo both became genre painters. Among his pupils was
Francesco Tito. In Italy, his works may be seen at the
Museo di Capodimonte and the museum in the
Royal Palace of Caserta. Petrocelli demonstrated remarkable technical skill in the academic tradition, with compositions so refined that one of his paintings; one of his works was sold in
Milan as a
Rubens. Petrocelli died in
Naples.
Vincenzo Gemito made a
terracotta bust of him in about 1869. == References ==