Benedetto Gennari II
Encyclopedia
Benedetto Gennari II (October 19, 1633 - December 9, 1715), Italian painter active during the Baroque
period.
and older brother of Cesare Gennari
. His father was Ercole Gennari and mother Lucia Barbieri. He trained at the workshop of the celebrated master, Guercino, hence his style was always very close to that of his teacher. Upon Guercino's death, Gennari inherited his studio which he ran with his brother Cesare
.
With a restless spirit and admiration for the Sun King, Gennari traveled to Paris in March 1672. The French nobility received him with open arms, and the multitude of commissions encouraged him to prolong his stay. In September 1674, he moved to London where he became court painter to the King Charles II of England
and his successor James II
. He painted allegorical and mythological scenes, especially portraits of Catherine of Braganza
and Mary of Modena
. As a court painter to Protestant Catholic kings, Gennari worked to achieve works of art expressing religious devotion. Gennari had to leave England when King James was dethroned. In 1689, he moved with the court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
. By 1692, he was back in Bologna.
Gennari was an outstanding portraitist, he eventually developed a style far removed from the principles taught in the school of Guercino. In the mature phase of his style, he came to acquire characteristics of the art of northern Europe, which he learned through his travels. In 1709, he was one of the founding members of the Accademia Clementina.
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
period.
Biography
Belonging to a dynasty of painters, Gennari was a student of Guercino, the grandson of Benedetto GennariBenedetto Gennari
Benedetto Gennari was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period, active mainly in Ferrara and Cento.His birthplace is poorly recorded: it is known he entered the studio of his brother-in-law Guercino in Bologna at the age of 16. He adopted a style influenced by Caravaggio, and by age 19, was...
and older brother of Cesare Gennari
Cesare Gennari
Cesare Gennari was an Italian painter of Baroque period. His Saint Mary Magdalene is in the Pinacoteca Civica di Cento...
. His father was Ercole Gennari and mother Lucia Barbieri. He trained at the workshop of the celebrated master, Guercino, hence his style was always very close to that of his teacher. Upon Guercino's death, Gennari inherited his studio which he ran with his brother Cesare
Cesare Gennari
Cesare Gennari was an Italian painter of Baroque period. His Saint Mary Magdalene is in the Pinacoteca Civica di Cento...
.
With a restless spirit and admiration for the Sun King, Gennari traveled to Paris in March 1672. The French nobility received him with open arms, and the multitude of commissions encouraged him to prolong his stay. In September 1674, he moved to London where he became court painter to the King Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and his successor James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. He painted allegorical and mythological scenes, especially portraits of Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662...
and Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
. As a court painter to Protestant Catholic kings, Gennari worked to achieve works of art expressing religious devotion. Gennari had to leave England when King James was dethroned. In 1689, he moved with the court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
. By 1692, he was back in Bologna.
Gennari was an outstanding portraitist, he eventually developed a style far removed from the principles taught in the school of Guercino. In the mature phase of his style, he came to acquire characteristics of the art of northern Europe, which he learned through his travels. In 1709, he was one of the founding members of the Accademia Clementina.
Famous Works
- Portrait of Guercino (National Art Gallery of BolognaPinacoteca Nazionale (Bologna)The National Art Gallery of Bologna is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the Academy of Fine Arts...
) - Santa Clara taking habits(1656-57, Santa Chiara, Pieve di Cento)
- Cleopatra(Yale Center for British Art, New Haven)
- Tales of Ovid's Metamorphoses(Hampton Court, London)
- Portrait of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin (1674, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes)
- Annunciation (1675, Cassa di Risparmio, Cento)
- Rinaldo and Armida(1676-78, Private Collection)
- Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705) Queen of King Charles II (1678, Portugal, Lisbon, British Embassy)
- King Charles II (1630-85) Reigned 1660-85 (1678, Portugal, Lisbon, British Embassy)
- Sagrada Familia(1682, Birmingham Museum Art Gallery)
- Sleeping Young Shepherd surprised by two women (Royal Collection)
- Death of Cleopatra (1686, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath)
- Portrait of James II of England (1686, Private Collection, NY)
- Portrait of Nathaniel Cholmley (1687, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull)
- Annunciation(1686, Ringling Museum, Sarasota)
- Elizabeth Panton as Santa Catalina (1689, Tate Gallery, London)
- Mary of Modena and his son James Stuart III (1690, Pinacoteca Civica, Modena)
- Theseus and the daughters of Minos (1702, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)