Bernardo Castello
Encyclopedia
Bernardo Castello (1557–1629) was an Italian
painter of the late-Mannerist style, active mainly in Genoa
and Liguria
. He is mainly known as a portrait and historical painter.
, now a quarter of Genoa
. He apprenticed under Andrea Semino and Luca Cambiaso, then he travelled through Italy
, meeting other painters and creating his own particular style.
During his career he painted a lot of works and was very appreciated by famous poets, with which he had friendship relations.
Among these he was a friend of Gabriello Chiabrera
and Torquato Tasso
, and took upon himself the task of designing the figures of the Jerusalem Delivered
, published in 1590 (and also for a further edition, published in 1617). Some of these subjects were engraved by Agostino Carracci
.
Besides painting a number of works in Genoa, Castello was employed in Rome
and worked also for the duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel I.
Bernardo Castello died following a short illness in October, 1629, seventy-two years aged, while he was about to go to Rome
, where he had been requested to paint a picture for St. Peter's Basilica
. He was buried in the church of San Martino of Albaro.
Bernardo Castello was the father of Valerio Castello
, his youngest son, born when the painter was already in advanced age.
Valerio Castello, great innovator, would become one of the greatest Genoese painters of 17th century, even if he died prematurely, when was only 34 years old.
Anyway Bernardo Castello could not influence his son’s artistic education, as he died when Valerio was only six years old.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
painter of the late-Mannerist style, active mainly in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
. He is mainly known as a portrait and historical painter.
Biography
Bernardo Castello was born in AlbaroAlbaro
Albaro is a residential neighbourhood of Genoa, Italy, which covers a wide area on a hill east of the city centre, once the old comune of San Francesco d'Albaro, included in the city of Genoa in 1873....
, now a quarter of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. He apprenticed under Andrea Semino and Luca Cambiaso, then he travelled through Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, meeting other painters and creating his own particular style.
During his career he painted a lot of works and was very appreciated by famous poets, with which he had friendship relations.
Among these he was a friend of Gabriello Chiabrera
Gabriello Chiabrera
Gabriello Chiabrera was an Italian poet, sometimes called the Italian Pindar.-Biography:He was of patrician descent, and was born at Savona, a little town in the domain of the Genoese republic, twenty-eight years after the...
and Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
, and took upon himself the task of designing the figures of the Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
, published in 1590 (and also for a further edition, published in 1617). Some of these subjects were engraved by Agostino Carracci
Agostino Carracci
Agostino Carracci was an Italian painter and printmaker. He was the brother of the more famous Annibale and cousin of Lodovico Carracci....
.
Besides painting a number of works in Genoa, Castello was employed in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and worked also for the duke of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
Charles Emmanuel I.
Bernardo Castello died following a short illness in October, 1629, seventy-two years aged, while he was about to go to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he had been requested to paint a picture for St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
. He was buried in the church of San Martino of Albaro.
Bernardo Castello was the father of Valerio Castello
Valerio Castello
Valerio Castello was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was very active during his short life in Genoa.He was the youngest son of Bernardo Castello, who died when Valerio was six year old...
, his youngest son, born when the painter was already in advanced age.
Valerio Castello, great innovator, would become one of the greatest Genoese painters of 17th century, even if he died prematurely, when was only 34 years old.
Anyway Bernardo Castello could not influence his son’s artistic education, as he died when Valerio was only six years old.
Works
During his long career Bernardo Castello produced a lot of works. The following list is not exhaustive, but gives an idea of his large artistic production:- FrescoFrescoFresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es with scenes of “Jerusalem DeliveredJerusalem DeliveredJerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
” in De Franchi palace (GenoaGenoaGenoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
) - Frescoes in Spinola palace and Imperiale palace (Genoa)
- Fresco depicting “Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist” in the church of JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
(Genoa) - Painting depicting St. Francis of PaolaFrancis of PaolaSaint Francis of Paola was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of the Minims.-Biography:...
in the church of Our Lady of Mount CarmelOur Lady of Mount CarmelOur Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
and St. Agnes (Genoa) - Painting depicting “EstherEstherEsther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...
and AhasuerusAhasuerusAhasuerus is a name used several times in the Hebrew Bible, as well as related legends and Apocrypha. This name is applied in the Hebrew Scriptures to three rulers...
” in the church of the Saints Cosmas and DamianSaints Cosmas and DamianSaints Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, physicians, and early Christian martyrs born in Cilicia, part of today's Turkey. They practiced their profession in the seaport of Ayas, Adana, then in the Roman province of Syria...
(Genoa) - Painting depicting “Madonna and Child with Saints Nicholas and Magdalene” in the church of St. Mary Magdalene (Genoa)
- Painting depicting “Madonna Enthroned with St. John and other saints” in the church known as the “Commenda” (St. John of Pré, in Genoa)
- Altarpiece depicting “The saints Rocco, Nazarius and CelsusNazarius and CelsusSaints Nazarius and Celsus were two martyrs of whom nothing is known except the discovery of their bodies by Saint Ambrose.According to Paulinus the Deacon's Vita Ambrosii, Ambrose, at some time within the last three years of his life, after the death of the Emperor Theodosius Saints Nazarius and...
, Catherine of SienaCatherine of SienaSaint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor...
and St. Sebastian” in the Oratory of St. Celsus (Genoa-Sturla) - Two paintings that depict “DepositionDescent from the CrossThe Descent from the Cross , or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion . In Byzantine art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the...
” and “Madonna with Child and saints”, in the church of San Bartolomeo della Certosa (Genoa-RivaroloRivarolo LigureRivarolo Ligure is a quarter in the north side of the city of Genoa, and is part of the Municipality Valpolcevera of Genoa....
). - Painting depicting the "Martyrdom of St. Peter of Verona" (1597) and frescoes in the ceiling of the church of Santa Maria di Castello in Genoa.
- Painting depicting “St. BernardBernard of ClairvauxBernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
in the chair between St. Erasmus and St. Nicholas” in the oratory of St. Bernard in Santa Margherita LigureSanta Margherita Ligurethumb|250px|Villa Durazzo.Santa Margherita Ligure is a comune in the province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 35 km southeast of Genoa, in the Tigullio traditional area.left|220px|thumb|16th century castle....
(discovered in 2007) - AltarpieceAltarpieceAn altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
depicting the “Virgin of the RosaryRosaryThe rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
” in the shrine of Our Lady of the Rose in Santa Margherita LigureSanta Margherita Ligurethumb|250px|Villa Durazzo.Santa Margherita Ligure is a comune in the province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 35 km southeast of Genoa, in the Tigullio traditional area.left|220px|thumb|16th century castle.... - AltarpieceAltarpieceAn altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
depicting “CrucifixCrucifixA crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
with the saints ProsperProsper of AquitaineSaint Prosper of Aquitaine , a Christian writer and disciple of Saint Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle.- Life :...
and Catherine of AlexandriaCatherine of AlexandriaSaint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
” in the church of Santa Maria Assunta (CamogliCamogliCamogli is a small Italian fishing village and tourist resort located on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino, on the Golfo Paradiso at the Riviera di Levante, in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. its population was of 5582 inhabitants. The name means "house of wives"...
) - Frescoes depicting “Histories of the Virgin” in the ceilingCeilingA ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limit of a room. It is generally not a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the floor or roof structure above....
end inside the domeDomeA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
of the shrine of Our Lady of MisericordiaSanctuary of Nostra Signora della MisericordiaThe Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Misericordia is a church and surrounding buildings located some six kilometers from the center of Savona, Liguria, northern Italy....
, near SavonaSavonaSavona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea.... - Paintings depicting “Madonna and Child with angelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s” and “Adoration of the ShepherdsAdoration of the shepherdsThe Adoration of the shepherds, in the Nativity of Jesus in art, is a scene in which shepherds are near witnesses to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It is often combined with the Adoration of the Magi, in which case it is typically just referred to by the latter title...
” in the same shrineSanctuary of Nostra Signora della MisericordiaThe Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Misericordia is a church and surrounding buildings located some six kilometers from the center of Savona, Liguria, northern Italy.... - Painting depicting the '”Assumption of the Virgin” in the church of St. Catherine (RossiglioneRossiglioneRossiglione is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 41 km northwest of Genoa....
) - Painting depicting “St. John the Baptist, St. Anthony the abbot and Mary MagdaleneMary MagdaleneMary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
” in the church of St. George (BusallaBusallaBusalla is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 27 km north of Genoa.Its territory is crossed by the upper valley of the Scrivia river. Nearby is the artificial Lake Busalletta....
) - Painting depicting the “AnnunciationAnnunciationThe Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
” in the church of St. George (Sarissola, quarter of BusallaBusallaBusalla is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 27 km north of Genoa.Its territory is crossed by the upper valley of the Scrivia river. Nearby is the artificial Lake Busalletta....
). - Altarpiece depicting the “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence” in the church of St. Lorenzo of Torbi (CeranesiCeranesiCeranesi is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 11 km northwest of Genoa.The Municipality of Ceranesi includes also the Shrine of N.S. della Guardia, the most important Marian shrine in Liguria.Ceranesi borders the following municipalities: Bosio,...
)
External links
- Paintings by Castello at ImageBase
- Paintings by Castello at A&A