Giovanni Guerra
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Guerra was an Italian draughtsman and painter from Modena
who worked in Rome, where he probably arrived in 1562, though he was not documented until 1583, when he frescoed three friezes of allegorical figures in the Palazzetto Cenci, a modest project for a patron who was not very prestigious.
For Cardinal Montalto
he dedicated an elaborate composition of the Mystic Terrestrial Paradise (paradiso terrestre mistico), which he had engraved with verses composed for the occasion; decorations from the Sala Grande of the Palazzo alle Terme of the Villa Montalto are also attributed to Guerra: on 24 April 1585 the Cardinal was elected to the papacy as Sixtus V
. In 1586 Guerra received the important commission, the first project of Sixtus, to fresco the staircase that connects the Sistine Chapel
in the Vatican Palace with St. Peter's Basilica
. In this large undertaking he was associated from the start of the following year with the experienced Cesare Nebbia
, and the partners continued to control the expanding team of painters in the vast decorations for Sixtus V
, notably in the Salone Sistino of the Vatican Library
(completed in 1589), where they provided designs and supervision for a multitude of assistants, in a project that Sidney J. Freedberg dismisses as "prosy humanistic subject matter in a flat academic style". Guerra did less painting as the project unrolled, concentrating on providing the other artists with designs, his strong point, for his coloring was weak, according to his first biographer, F. Forciroli. He developed a reputation as an inventor of designs, such as the series of drawings demonstrating the story of Judith, now in the Avery Library, Columbia University, which another hand has referred to this pittore erudito
Guerra provided drawings for Cesare Ripa
's Iconologia (1593) and further drawings for its second, expanded Roman edition (1603), which remained in active use by painters and designers for the decorative arts for more than a century. His own little volume of engraved emblem
s, Varii Emblemi hierogliphici, he signed as Pittore e Invent. More than three hundred drawings by him are conserved in the Musée du Louvre and the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
, Paris.
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
who worked in Rome, where he probably arrived in 1562, though he was not documented until 1583, when he frescoed three friezes of allegorical figures in the Palazzetto Cenci, a modest project for a patron who was not very prestigious.
For Cardinal Montalto
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
he dedicated an elaborate composition of the Mystic Terrestrial Paradise (paradiso terrestre mistico), which he had engraved with verses composed for the occasion; decorations from the Sala Grande of the Palazzo alle Terme of the Villa Montalto are also attributed to Guerra: on 24 April 1585 the Cardinal was elected to the papacy as Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
. In 1586 Guerra received the important commission, the first project of Sixtus, to fresco the staircase that connects the 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...
in the Vatican Palace with 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...
. In this large undertaking he was associated from the start of the following year with the experienced Cesare Nebbia
Cesare Nebbia
Cesare Nebbia is an Italian painter from Orvieto who painted in a Mannerist style.-Biography:He trained with Girolamo Muziano, and under this master, he helped complete a flurry of decoration that was added to the Cathedral of Orvieto in the 1560s...
, and the partners continued to control the expanding team of painters in the vast decorations for Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
, notably in the Salone Sistino of the Vatican Library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
(completed in 1589), where they provided designs and supervision for a multitude of assistants, in a project that Sidney J. Freedberg dismisses as "prosy humanistic subject matter in a flat academic style". Guerra did less painting as the project unrolled, concentrating on providing the other artists with designs, his strong point, for his coloring was weak, according to his first biographer, F. Forciroli. He developed a reputation as an inventor of designs, such as the series of drawings demonstrating the story of Judith, now in the Avery Library, Columbia University, which another hand has referred to this pittore erudito
Guerra provided drawings for Cesare Ripa
Cesare Ripa
Cesare Ripa was an Italian aesthetician who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler.Little is known about his life. He was born in Perugia and died in Rome. After the death of the cardinal, Ripa worked for his relatives...
's Iconologia (1593) and further drawings for its second, expanded Roman edition (1603), which remained in active use by painters and designers for the decorative arts for more than a century. His own little volume of engraved emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...
s, Varii Emblemi hierogliphici, he signed as Pittore e Invent. More than three hundred drawings by him are conserved in the Musée du Louvre and the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...
, Paris.