Marcantonio Franceschini
Encyclopedia
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 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...
period, active mostly in his native Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. He was the father and teacher of Giacomo Franceschini
Giacomo Franceschini
Giacomo Franceschini was an Italian painter from Bologna. He was the son and student of Marc Antonio Franceschini. Giuseppe Pedretti was one of his students.-Sources:* *...
.
Biography
He was a pupil of Carlo CignaniCarlo Cignani
Carlo Cignani was an Italian painter of the Bolognese and of the Forlivese school, active in the Baroque period....
, with whom he worked on the frescoes in the Palazzo del Giardino in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
(1678-1681). He worked closely for many years with his brother-in-law, Luigi Quaini
Luigi Quaini
Luigi Quaini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.He first learned the art of architectural perspective painting from his father, Francesco Quaini, a pupil of Agostino Mitelli. After some training with his father, he became a pupil of Guercino, then of Carlo Cignani . There he met a...
, who also was the cousin of Cignani.
Franceschini had a long career painting canvases on religious and mythological subjects for patrons throughout Europe. Franceschini decorated the ceilings of Palazzo Ranuzzi(1680) and Palazzo Marescotti Brazzetti (1682) in Bologna. He helped paint in the tribune at San Bartolomeo Porta Ravegnana (1690). Franceschini frescoed the ceiling of the Sala d'Onore ("Hall of Honor") in the Ducal Palace of Modena
Ducal Palace of Modena
The Ducal Palace of Modena is a Baroque palace in Modena, Italy. It was the residence of the Este Dukes of Modena between 1452 and 1859. It currently houses a portion of the Italian Military Academy.-History:...
, commissioned in 1696 for the marriage of Rinaldo d'Este to Princess Charlotte Felicity of Brunswick. He painted the altarpiece in the Cathedral of Finale Ligure
Finale Ligure
Finale Ligure is a comune on the Gulf of Genoa in the Province of Savona in Liguria, Italy. It is considered part of the Italian Riviera.-Geography:...
and the canvas of San Carlo in the church of the same name in Modena.
His massive program of historical and mythological scenes in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio of the Palazzo Ducale 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....
(1701-1704) were destroyed by a fire in 1777. These had been completed with the help of Tommaso Aldrovandini, Quaini, and Antonio Meloni. In addition, his decorations of the pendentives and lunettes of the Cathedral of Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
were removed in the late 19th century. He decorated the church of Corpus Domini (1688-1694) in Bologna (damaged in World War II)
He painted 26 canvases of the seductions and loves of the goddesses Diana and Venus for the Prince Johann Adam of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(1692-1700). He also served as a buyer of art for the Prince.
In Genoa, he also painted for the palaces Spinola and the Palazzo Pallavicini (now Podestà) (1715) 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....
. The latter had five large canvases of the history of Diana.
Canvases of the four seasons (1716) are now found in the Pinacoteca di Bologna. There are two canvases of the Story of Rachel in the Pinacoteca B.P.E.R..
He painted the "cartoons" used to make the mosaic decoration of the Cappella del Coro in 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...
. Knighted by Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
, he was founding a member and a subsequent director of the Clementine Academy in Bologna.
His paintings have an academic and idealist strain, even for a member of the Bolognese School of Painting
Bolognese School (painting)
The Bolognese School or the School of Bologna of painting flourished in Bologna, the capital of Emilia Romagna, between the 16th and 17th centuries in Italy, and rivalled Florence and Rome as the center of painting. Its most important representatives include the Carracci family, including Ludovico...
. The sparse figures are severely arranged and often porcelain in features. He worked with a younger colleague, Donato Creti
Donato Creti
Donato Creti was an Italian painter of the Rococo period, active mostly in Bologna.Born in Cremona, he moved to Bologna, where he was a pupil of Lorenzo Pasinelli. He is described by Wittkower as the "Bolognese Marco Benefial", in that his style was less decorative and edged into a more formal...
. His style is often classified as Barochetto, a mixture of 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...
and rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
; but it also could be said the neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
influence of French artists was beginning to overtake the baroque tradition. Wittkower describes him as the "Bolognese Maratta
Carlo Maratta
Carlo Maratta or Maratti was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition stemming from Raphael, he was not exempt from the influence of Baroque painting...
".
Numerous painters worked and trained in his prolific studio. Among those who spent time as pupils, apprentices, or assistants were Tommaso Aldrovandini, Luca Antonio Bistoia, Giacomo Boni
Giacomo Boni (painter)
Giacomo Boni was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active mainly in Genoa.He was born in Bologna, and became a pupil of Marcantonio Franceschini, and later of the painter Carlo Cignani in Forlì. He returned and followed Franceschini to Genoa, then Crema, Piacenza, Lavino, Parma, and...
, Francesco Caccianiga
Francesco Caccianiga
Francesco Caccianiga was an Italian painter and engraver.He was born in Milan. In Bologna, he became a pupil of Marcantonio Franceschini. He afterwards visited Rome, where he established himself under the patronage of Prince Borghese, for whom he executed some considerable works in the Palazzo and...
, Ferdinando del Cairo
Ferdinando del Cairo
Ferdinando del Cairo was an Italian painter of the Baroque.He was born at Casale Monferrato, and learned the first rudiments of design from his father, an unknown artist. He afterwards became a pupil of Marcantonio Franceschini at Bologna...
, Antonio Cifrondi
Antonio Cifrondi
Antonio Cifrondi was an Italian painter of the late Baroque, mainly of genre themes. He was active in Brescia and near Bergamo....
, Giacinto Garofalini
Giacinto Garofalini
Giacinto Garofalini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was a pupil of the painter Marcantonio Franceschini. Also called Garofolini by Luigi Lanzi.-References:...
, Ercole Graziani the elder, Girolamo Gatti
Girolamo Gatti
Girolamo Gatti was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was a pupil of the painter Marcantonio Franceschini. He painted Mystical night of Saint Theresa with Saints Andrea Corsini and Ursula for the church of the Carmine in Medicina.-References:...
, Pietro Gilardi, Giuseppe Marchesi
Giuseppe Marchesi
Giuseppe Marchesi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was also known as il Sansone. He was a pupil of the painter Marcantonio Franceschini and Aureliano Milani....
(il Sansone), Michelangelo Monticelli, Giuseppe Pedretti
Giuseppe Pedretti
Giuseppe Pedretti was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period, active mainly in Bologna. He was a pupil of the painter Marcantonio Franceschini and his son Giacomo Franceschini....
, Pietro Francesco Prina, Antonio Rossi (painter)
Antonio Rossi (painter)
Antonio Rossi was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period, active mainly in Bologna. He was a pupil of the painter Marcantonio Franceschini. He painted for the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna.-References:...
, Gentile Zanardi, and his son Jacopo.
The Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London. England's first purpose-built public art gallery, it was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Soane arranged the exhibition spaces as a series of interlinked rooms illuminated naturally...
(London), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
(Vienna), the Liechtenstein Museum
Liechtenstein Museum
The Liechtenstein Museum is in Vienna, Austria, named after the princely House of Liechtenstein, one of Europe's oldest noble families. The museum includes the Princely Collections containing important European works of art, forming one of the world's leading private art collections.The museum has...
(Vienna), the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, Musei Civici di Macerata (Italy), Museo Glauco Lombardi (Parma, Italy), the National Art Gallery of Bologna (Italy), and the State Museums of Florence are among the public institutions holding paintings by Marcantonio Franceschini.