Domenico Cunego
Encyclopedia
Domenico Cunego was an Italian printmaker.
Cunego was born at Verona
. Having studied under the otherwise-unknown painter Francesco Ferrari, he began his artistic career as a painter, producing several works, all of which are now lost or untraceable. Aged 18, however, he switched to engraving
(a field in which he was possibly self-taught). He died in Rome.
The engravings he made after Michelangelo
's Sistine Chapel
ceiling, published in Gavin Hamilton
's Schola Italica Picturae (1773), were an important source for the artists of his time.
He is notable not only for reproducing paintings by his Italian contemporaries such as Antonio Balestra
, Francesco Solimena
and Felice Boscaratti
(1721–1807), but also works by British artists in Italy catering to Grand Tour
ists. The latter included Gavin Hamilton's cycle of 6 works on the Iliad
and David Allan's Origin of Portraiture.
His sons Luigi (b. 1750) and Giuseppe (b. 1760) were also engravers.
Cunego was born at Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. Having studied under the otherwise-unknown painter Francesco Ferrari, he began his artistic career as a painter, producing several works, all of which are now lost or untraceable. Aged 18, however, he switched to engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
(a field in which he was possibly self-taught). He died in Rome.
The engravings he made after Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
's Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...
ceiling, published in Gavin Hamilton
Gavin Hamilton (artist)
Gavin Hamilton was a Scottish neoclassical history painterwho is more widely remembered for his hunts for antiquities in the neighborhood of Rome...
's Schola Italica Picturae (1773), were an important source for the artists of his time.
He is notable not only for reproducing paintings by his Italian contemporaries such as Antonio Balestra
Antonio Balestra
Antonio Balestra was an Italian painter of the Rococo period.Born in Verona, he first apprenticed there with Giovanni Zeffio. By 1690 he moved to Venice, where he worked for three years under Antonio Bellucci, then moved to Bologna and then to paint in Carlo Maratta's workshop in Rome. In 1694, he...
, Francesco Solimena
Francesco Solimena
Francesco Solimena was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen.-Biography:Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino, near Avellino....
and Felice Boscaratti
Felice Boscaratti
Felice Boscaratti was an Italian painter. A pupil of the Rotari, he soon became established as a painter and teacher. He moved to Vicenza but also worked in his birthplace of Verona - his works at the latter include Saints Ignazio and Bonaventura in the cappella Canossa a S. Bernardino...
(1721–1807), but also works by British artists in Italy catering to Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
ists. The latter included Gavin Hamilton's cycle of 6 works on the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and David Allan's Origin of Portraiture.
His sons Luigi (b. 1750) and Giuseppe (b. 1760) were also engravers.
Works
- Illustrations for the 3-volume catalogue of Giacomo Muselli's coin collection, in collaboration with Dionigi ValesiDionigi ValesiDionigi Valesi was an Italian printmaker active in Verona and Venice. His work included reproductions of paintings by Paolo Veronese, Francesco Guardi, Francesco Battaglioli and Pietro Antonio Rotari and by the architect Adriano Cristofali, as well as book illustrations and portraits of Venetian...
(1752, 1756, 1760). - Views of Verona after drawings by T. Majeroni (1750s)
- St Thomas of Villanova (1757), after a painting by Antonio BalestraAntonio BalestraAntonio Balestra was an Italian painter of the Rococo period.Born in Verona, he first apprenticed there with Giovanni Zeffio. By 1690 he moved to Venice, where he worked for three years under Antonio Bellucci, then moved to Bologna and then to paint in Carlo Maratta's workshop in Rome. In 1694, he...
(a frequent source for Cunego) - Some of the engravings for Ruins of the palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia. by Robert AdamRobert AdamRobert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
, 1764
Sources
- Art Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Art.
- Bryan, Michael (1903). Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, Volume 1. G. Bell and sons