Adeodato Malatesta came from a family of artists in Modena. From 1817, he took courses in rhetoric and philosophy at the seminary in his home town, but only a year later he transferred to the Academy of Fine Arts. Between 1826 and 1829, he studied in Florence, and, from 1833 to 1837, at the Academy in Venice. He then spent two years in Rome with the financial support of the Duke of Modena. Malatesta developed an eclectic painting style between Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Purism and the art of the Nazarenes. He painted genre scenes and religious paintings. In the 1830s, Malatesta devoted himself almost exclusively to portrait painting. In 1839, Malatesta returned to Modena because he was nominated vice-director at the Academy of Fine Arts. In the same year, he was appointed director and implemented extensive reforms in academic education. In the 1860s and 1870s, Malatesta was also director of the Commission for the Preservation of Works of Art in Emilia-Romagna, president of the academies in Bologna, Parma and Modena and, from 1882, director of the Galleria Estense in Modena. His works were awarded several important prizes.