Showing posts with label Paolo Veronese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paolo Veronese. Show all posts

3 June 2019

Pietro Paolini – artist

Follower of Caravaggio passed on his techniques to the next generation



Paolini's Achilles among the Daughters of  Lycomedes,  which is in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles
Paolini's Achilles among the Daughters of  Lycomedes,
 which is in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles
Pietro Paolini, a painter in the Baroque period in Italy, was born on this day in 1603 in Lucca in Tuscany.

Sometimes referred to as Il Lucchese, Paolini was a follower of the controversial Italian artist Caravaggio.

He also founded an academy in his native city and taught the next generation of painters in Lucca.

Paolini’s father, Tommaso, sent him to Rome when he was 16 to train in the workshop of Angelo Caroselli, who was a follower of Caravaggio.

Paolini had the opportunity to study various schools and techniques, which is reflected in the flexible style of his work.

Paolini's Bacchic Concert, which is in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art
Paolini's Bacchic Concert, which is in the collection of
the Dallas Museum of Art
He was exposed to the second generation of painters in the Caravaggio tradition such as Bartolomeo Manfredi, Cecco del Caravaggio and Bartolomeo Cavarozzi.

The principal themes of Paolini’s work were the subjects popularised by Caravaggio around the turn of the 17th century involving lower class people such as hawkers, prostitutes and musicians. Some of his paintings have allegorical meanings, such as The Allegory of the Five Senses, which depicts a darkened inn with people engaged in playing music and drinking, each representing one of the five senses. The picture shows the realism and the strong chiaroscuro typical of Caravaggio.

Paolini spent two years living and working in Venice where he had the opportunity to study the works of Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto and he then returned to Lucca where he spent the rest of his life. His parents had died and he needed to support his siblings.

Paolini's The Allegory of the Five Senses, which is on display at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore
Paolini's The Allegory of the Five Senses, which is
on display at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore
After establishing a successful studio in Lucca he specialised in cabinet pictures and introduced the still life genre to the city. He received many commissions from religious institutions in Lucca as well as prominent local citizens.

In about 1652 he founded the Academy of Painting and Drawing of Lucca, where he helped train many young painters. Artists such as Girolamo Scaglia, Simone del Tintore, Antonio Franchi, Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi were all trained there. At this stage he almost entirely gave up painting himself in order to devote himself to teaching.

Paolini died in Lucca in 1681.  He had two sons, Andrea, who became custodian of the Public Archives in Lucca, and Giovanni Tommaso.

Many of Paolini’s most famous works are on display in galleries around the world, including The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine of Alexandria, which can be seen in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome, Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes (J. Paul Getty Museum) and Bacchic Concert (Dallas Museum of Art).  The Allegory of the Five Senses is in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Others, such as The Card Sharps, Portrait of a Man and A Young Lady Holding a Compass are in private collections.

A view over the rooftops of Paolini's home city of  Lucca in western Tuscany, not far from Pisa
A view over the rooftops of Paolini's home city of
Lucca in western Tuscany, not far from Pisa
Travel tip:

Lucca, Paolini’s home city, is situated 30km (19 miles) inland from Viareggio on the coast and 20km (12 miles) from Pisa, with its international airport, yet is often overlooked by travellers to the area. It has much to recommend within its majestic walls, where visitors can stroll along narrow cobbled streets into a number of beautiful squares, with lots of cafes and restaurants for those content to soak up the ambiance, but also a wealth of churches, museums and galleries for those seeking a fix of history and culture.   The Renaissance walls, still intact, are an attraction in their own right, providing a complete 4.2km (2.6 miles) circuit of the city popular with walkers and cyclists.

The facade of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome,  designed by the architect Carlo Maderno
The facade of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome,
designed by the architect Carlo Maderno
Travel tip:

The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica (National Gallery of Ancient Art) is an art gallery in Rome. It has two sites: the Palazzo Barberini and the Palazzo Corsini.  The Palazzo Barberini was designed for Pope Urban VIII, a member of the Barberini family, by 16th century Italian architect Carlo Maderno on the old location of Villa Sforza, facing the Piazza Barberini in central Rome. Its central salon ceiling was decorated by Pietro da Cortona with the visual panegyric of the Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power to glorify the papal Barberini family.  The Palazzo Corsini, formerly known as Palazzo Riario, is a 15th-century palace in the Trastevere district that was rebuilt in the 18th century by architect Ferdinando Fuga for Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini.

More reading:

Caravaggio sentenced to death after a murder in Rome

How did Caravaggio die?

Luca Giordano, the artist known as The Thunderbolt

Also on this day:

1678: The birth of architect Domenico Antonio Vaccaro

1751: The birth of the Blessed Vincent Romano

1977: The death of film maker Robert Rossellini


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18 April 2019

Paolo Veronese – painter

Artist with a talent for using colour and painting people


Paolo Veronese: a self-portrait, reckoned to be painted between 1558 and 1563.
Paolo Veronese: a self-portrait, reckoned to
be painted between 1558 and 1563.
A leading figure of the 16th century Venetian school of painting, the artist Paolo Veronese died on this day in 1588 in Venice.

Veronese left a legacy of huge, colourful, paintings full of figures, which depicted allegorical, biblical or historical subjects. Much of his work remains in Venice to this day.

A dominant figure during the Renaissance, Veronese has continued to inspire and be appreciated by many of the great artists who came after him, in particular Rubens, Watteau, Tiepolo and Renoir.

Veronese was born in 1528, taking his grandfather’s surname of Caliari, but later adopting the surname Veronese, referencing his birthplace of Verona.

He began training as an artist at the age of 14 with Antonio Badile, whose daughter, Elena, he later married. One of his early works, Temptation of St Anthony, painted in 1552 for the Cathedral in Mantua, shows the influence of Michelangelo.

In 1553 he began working for the Venetian authorities on the decoration of the Palazzo Ducale. His skilful work on the ceiling of the Hall of the Council of Ten makes the figures appear to be actually floating in space above the viewer.

Veronese's painting, Wedding at Cana, full of figures and with beautiful colours, is one of his most famous works
Veronese's painting, Wedding at Cana, full of figures and
with beautiful colours, is one of his most famous works
His painting of a History of Esther for the ceiling of the Church of San Sebastiano in 1556 in Venice and his paintings for the ceiling of the Marciano Library in 1557 were awarded a prize, after being judged by Titian and Sansovino, establishing him as a master among his Venetian contemporaries.

Among his many triumphs are his decorations in the late 1550s for the Villa Barbaro in Maser, which was a newly-finished building by Andrea Palladio. These employed complex perspective and trompe l’oeil.

His famous work, Wedding at Cana, painted in 1562, was commissioned by the Benedictine monks for the San Giorgio Maggiore monastery across the lagoon from St Mark’s Square.   Veronese was contracted to cover 66 square metres and include as many figures as possible. The painting is now in the Louvre in Paris.

In 1573 Veronese completed his commission for his Feast in the House of Levi, although the painting for the rear wall of the refectory at the Basilica di Santi Giovannni e Paolo was intended to be a Last Supper.

Veronese's painting, The Feast in the House of Levi, was
originally commissioned as a Last Supper
Veronese’s banquet scene featured drunken German soldiers, dwarves and animals. The painting attracted the attention of the Inquisition who perceived it as heretical. The investigation later found there was no heresy, but the artist was ordered to change its title. Veronese chose The Feast in the House of Levi, which is still an episode from the Gospels, but one in which the Gospels specified "sinners" as being present.

In his biography of Veronese, Carlo Ridolfi said that The Feast in the House of Levi ‘gave reign to joy, made beauty majestic and made laughter, itself, more festive.’

In 1860, the art critic Theophile Gautier wrote that Veronese was ‘the greatest colourist who ever lived’.

Veronese died in Venice after contracting a fever in April 1588, when he was in his 60th year.  His brother and sons had him buried in the Church of San Sebastiano, which he had spent many years decorating, and they had a bust placed over his grave.

The Chiesa di San Sebastiano,
where Veronese painted for 15 years
Travel tip:

Veronese spent three periods between 1555 and 1570 decorating the interior of Chiesa di San Sebastiano in Venice. His last work for the church was the painting behind the high altar, Madonna in Glory with St Sebastian and other Saints, completed in 1570. Veronese’s tomb is to the left of the sanctuary. The church is in Campazzo San Sebastiano, a short walk from Ponte dell’Accademia, the Accademia bridge.

The entrance to the Gallerie dell'
Accademia, in Campo della Carità
Travel tip:

Veronese’s masterpiece, The Feast in the House of Levi, originally painted for the refectory at the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, is now in Venice’s Gallerie dell’Accademia, an art gallery in Campo della Carita close to the Grand Canal, after which the wooden bridge, Ponte dell’Accademia is named.

More reading:

Titian - the giant of Renaissance art

How Sansovino left his mark on Venice

What made Palladio the world's favourite architect

Also on this day:

1798: The death of supremely gifted painter of Venetian scenes, Canaletto

1937: The birth of chef and restaurateur Antonio Carluccio

1953: The birth of Olympic champion Sara Simeon


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