Giuseppe Carelli was born in Naples in 1858 into a family of Neapolitan artists - his grandfather Raffaele Carelli (1795 – 1864), father Consalvo Carelli (1818 – 1900), and uncles Gabriele and Achille Carelli were all successful artists belonging to the School of Posillipo. This group of artists was influenced by the beauty of Naples and the surrounding coastline and villages, producing lyrical landscapes in both oils and watercolors.

Giuseppe Carelli was initially taught by his father, Consalvo, and by the age of eighteen he graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Naples, where he studied with Joseph Mancinelli and Vincenzo Marinelli, before continuing his studies in Rome.