Quel dipinto è di un pittore famoso.

Quel is the masculine singular demonstrative used before most nouns that start with a consonant.

So:

• quel dipinto = that painting

You use quello before masculine singular nouns beginning with:

• s + consonant: quello studente
• z: quello zaino
• ps: quello psicologo
• gn: quello gnomo
• sometimes x and similar sounds

Since dipinto starts with a normal consonant sound (d), quel is the correct form.

Here, dipinto is a noun meaning painting.

It comes from the verb dipingere (to paint), and literally it is related to something painted, but in everyday Italian un dipinto commonly means a painting as an artwork.

So:

• un dipinto = a painting
• quel dipinto = that painting

Yes. In this sentence, di is being used to express authorship or origin.

So:

• Quel dipinto è di un pittore famoso = That painting is by a famous painter

Italian often uses di where English uses by for authorship:

• un romanzo di Calvino = a novel by Calvino
• una canzone di De André = a song by De André

So although di often means of, its meaning depends on context. Here it means by.

Normally, no, not in this sentence.

For authorship of a work, Italian usually uses di, not da:

• un quadro di Picasso = correct
• un quadro da Picasso = not correct for authorship

Da has other uses, such as:

• movement from somewhere: vengo da Roma
• going to someone’s place: vado dal dottore
• sometimes the agent in passive constructions: è stato dipinto da Picasso = it was painted by Picasso

So if you rephrased the sentence as a passive verb, then da would be right:

• Quel dipinto è stato dipinto da un pittore famoso.

But with the noun phrase expressing authorship, di is the normal choice.

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same in tone.

• un pittore famoso is the most neutral and straightforward: a painter who is famous
• un famoso pittore can sound a little more literary, emphatic, or stylistically marked: a famous painter

In many cases, adjective position in Italian is flexible, but it can slightly affect emphasis or nuance.

In this sentence, un pittore famoso sounds very natural and standard.

In Italian, many descriptive adjectives commonly come after the noun.

So:

• un pittore famoso
• una città grande
• un libro interessante

This is very normal Italian word order.

Some adjectives can also come before the noun, but when they do, the meaning or emphasis may change slightly. For learners, it is safest to remember that descriptive adjectives often come after the noun.

Because Italian normally uses an article where English also would in this case:

• a famous painter = un pittore famoso

The sentence is not identifying the painter specifically. It just says the painting is by a famous painter, not the famous painter.

If it were a specific painter already known in context, you might see:

• Quel dipinto è del pittore famoso che ti dicevo. = That painting is by the famous painter I told you about.

So un shows that the painter is being mentioned in a non-specific way.

Yes.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Quel dipinto = subject
• è = verb (is)
• di un pittore famoso = complement saying who it is by

So the basic structure is:

• That painting
  • is
    • by a famous painter

Yes. Dipinto is masculine singular, and the ending -o is a strong clue.

That is why the words around it match in gender and number:

• quel → masculine singular
• dipinto → masculine singular

If the noun were feminine, you would need a different form:

• quella scultura = that sculpture

Agreement is very important in Italian, so demonstratives, articles, and adjectives often change to match the noun.

The plural would be:

• Quei dipinti sono di pittori famosi.

Word-by-word:

• quei dipinti = those paintings
• sono = are
• di pittori famosi = by famous painters

Notice the changes:

• quel → quei
• dipinto → dipinti
• è → sono
• un pittore famoso → pittori famosi

If you wanted to keep it singular in meaning on the painter side, you could also say:

• Quei dipinti sono di un pittore famoso. = Those paintings are by a famous painter.

Yes. Quel is basically the shortened form used before most masculine singular nouns beginning with a consonant.

It is pronounced roughly like kwel.

So:

• quello → fuller form
• quel → shortened form before many nouns

This is similar to how Italian articles and demonstratives often change form depending on the sound that follows.

Examples:

• quel libro
• quel dipinto
• but quello studente

Yes. That would mean:

• Questo dipinto è di un pittore famoso. = This painting is by a famous painter.

The only difference is distance or perspective:

• questo = this
• quel = that

So the grammar stays the same; only the demonstrative changes.