Giovanni Battista Crespi
Encyclopedia
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, and architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
,
Biography
He was born in Romagnano SesiaRomagnano Sesia
Romagnano Sesia is a town and comune of c. 4,000 inhabitants in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km northeast of Turin and about 25 km northwest of Novara....
, the son of a painter, Raffaele Crespi, and moved to Cerano
Cerano
Cerano is a comune in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km northeast of Turin and about 14 km southeast of Novara...
with his family some years later. In 1591 he is known to have been living in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
True to the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
piety zealously expressed in Milanese art of his time, his paintings focus on mysteries and mystical episodes in saintly life. The crowded canvases and the angles recall Mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
, but his paintings show an emotion that evokes common sentiments in Baroque
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...
art. Along with other artists, he completed a series of paintings (Quadroni of St. Charles
Quadroni of St. Charles
The Quadroni of St. Charles Borromeo are two cycles of paintings depicting the life and miracles of the first Saint of the Counter Reformation. These very large paintings are displayed during the month of November in the Duomo of Milan in honor of St. Charles' name day on November 4...
) of the life of St. Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo was the cardinal archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was a leading figure during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests...
http://www.wga.hu/html/c/crespi/giovanni/borromeo.html for the Duomo of Milan, an altarpiece with the Baptism of St. Augustine for San Marco (Milan)
San Marco (Milan)
San Marco is a church in Milan, northern Italy.-History:According to tradition, the church was dedicated to St. Mark, patron of Venice, after the help given by that city in the war against Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century...
, and a Mass of St. Gregory for the Basilica of San Vittore in Varese
Varese
Varese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...
(1615–17). Also see the nightmarish, St. Gregory Delivers the Soul of a Monk (1617), also in San Vittore.http://www.wga.hu/html/c/crespi/giovanni/gregory.html
He was a scholar of considerable attainments, and held a position of dignity in Cerano. In 1620 he was appointed head of the Accademia Ambrosiana
Biblioteca Ambrosiana
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historic library in Milan, Italy, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the Ambrosian art gallery. Named after Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, it was founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo , whose agents scoured Western Europe and even Greece and Syria for books...
founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo
Federico Borromeo
Federico Borromeo was an Italian ecclesiastic, cardinal and archbishop of Milan.-Biography:Federico Borromeo was born in Milan as the second son of Giulio Cesare Borromeo, Count of Arona, and Margherita Trivulzio...
. Among his pupils were Daniele Crespi
Daniele Crespi
Daniele Crespi was an Italian painter of the Baroque era. He was born in Busto Arsizio, and active mostly in the Milan of Federico Borromeo....
, Carlo Francesco Nuvolone
Carlo Francesco Nuvolone
Carlo Francesco Nuvolone was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Lombardy.He was born in Milan to a Cremonese father and mannerist painter, Panfilo Nuvolone. After working with his father, he studied under Giovanni Battista Crespi in the Accademia Ambrosiana in Milan...
, and Melchiore Gillardini (died 1675) .
External links
- http://www.verbanensia.org/quadro_details.asp?quID=18755
- http://www.verbanensia.org/quadro_details.asp?quID=16003
- http://www.verbanensia.org/quadro_details.asp?quID=15651