Pietro da Cortona
Encyclopedia
Pietro da Cortona, by the name of Pietro Berrettini, born Pietro Berrettini da Cortona, (1 November 1596/7 16 May 1669) was the leading Italian Baroque
painter of his time and also one of the key architects in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important decorator. Cortona worked mainly in Rome and Florence.
, then a town in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
. He trained in painting in Florence under Andrea Commodi
, but soon he departed for Rome at around 1612/3, where he joined the studio of Baccio Ciarpi
. He was involved in fresco decorations at the Palazzo Mattei
in 1622-3 under the direction of Agostino Ciampelli
and Cardinal Orsini had commissioned from him an Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1626) for San Salvatore in Lauro
.
In Rome, he had encouragement from many prominent patrons. According to Cortona's biographers his gifted copy of Raphael
's Galatea fresco brought him to the attention of Marcello Sacchetti, papal treasurer during the Barberini
papacy. Such contacts helped him gain an early major commission in Rome (1624–1626), a fresco decoration in the church of Santa Bibiana
that was being renovated under the direction of Bernini. In 1626, the Sacchetti family engaged Cortona to paint three large canvases of The Sacrifice of Polyxena, The Triumph of Bacchus, and The Rape of the Sabines (the latter, c. 1629), and to paint a series of frescoes in the Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano
, near Ostia
, using a team that included the young Andrea Sacchi
. In the Sacchetti orbit, he met Pope Urban VIII
and Cardinal Francesco Barberini
, the papal nephew, and their patronage of Cortona provided him with ample scope to demonstrate his abilities as a painter of frescoes and canvases.
ceiling or in Carracci
s' The Loves of the Gods
in the Farnese gallery (completed 1601). In 1633, Pope Urban VIII
(Maffeo Barberini) commissioned from Cortona a large fresco painting for the ceiling of the Barberini
family palace; the Palazzo Barberini
. Completed six years later, the huge Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power
marks a watershed in Baroque painting. A putative sketch of the plan, of doubtful authenticity, is exhibited in the hall. The fresco is an illusion
with the central field apparently open to the sky and scores of figures seen 'al di sotto in su' apparently coming into the room itself or floating above it. It contains endless number of heraldic symbols and subthemes.
Cortona's panegyric trompe l'oeil
extavaganzas have lost favor in minimalist times, yet they are precursors of sunny and cherubim infested rococo excesses. They contrast starkly with darker renegade naturalism prominent in Caravaggisti
, and remind us that the Baroque style was not monolithic. Cortona, like Bernini in sculpture, appears reactionary, patronizing; yet if excellence in art is measured by the ability to match style to intent within the limitations of the medium, then Cortona was triumphant. He was among the first of the fresco painters that dispensed with the architectural masonry of the roof, erasing it away with painted integral architecture and a broad, non-framed vista. While rising heavenward, works like the Barberini Allegory are meant to stagger and humble the visitor, who seems to stand over, and not below, a looming abyss of mythic power that threatens to overwhelm the viewer.
in 1637, that he should be asked by Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici
to paint a series of frescoes intended to represent the four ages of man in a small room, the Sala della Stufa, in the Palazzo Pitti
. The first two represented the "ages" of silver and gold. In 1641, he was recalled to paint the 'Bronze Age' and 'Iron Age' frescoes.
He began work on the decoration of the grand-ducal reception rooms on the first floor of the Palazzo Pitti, now part of the Palatine Gallery. In these five Planetary Rooms, the hierarchical sequence of the deities is based on Ptolomeic cosmology; Venus, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter (the Medici Throne room) and Saturn, but minus Mercury and the Moon which should have come before Venus. These highly ornate ceilings with frescoes and elaborate stucco work essentially celebrate the Medici lineage and the bestowal of virtuous leadership. Pietro left Florence in 1647, and his pupil and collaborator, Ciro Ferri
, completed the cycle by the 1660s.
) in Rome, a work not finished until 1665. Other frescoes are in Palazzo Pamphilj
in Piazza Navona (1651-4).
Towards the end of his life he devoted much of his time to architecture
, but he published a treatise on painting in 1652 under a pseudonym and in collaboration. He refused invitations to both France and Spain.
were involved in theoretical controversies regarding the number of figures that were appropriate in a painted work.
Sacchi argued for few figures, since he felt it was not possible to grant meaningful individuality, a distinct role, to more than a few figures per scene. Cortona, on the other hand, lobbied for an art that could accommodate many subplots to a central concept. In addition, he also likely viewed the possibility of using many human figures in decorative detail or to represent a general concept. Sacchi's position would be reinforced in future years by Nicolas Poussin
. Others have seen in this dichotomy, the long-standing debate whether visual art is about theoretical principles and meant to narrate a full story, or a painterly decorative endeavor, meant to delight the senses. Cortona was a director of the Accademia from 1634-1638.
Cortona employed or trained many prominent artists, who then disseminated his grand manner style. Apart from Ciro Ferri
, others that worked in his studio included:
Romanelli and Camassei also trained under Domenichino. Giovanni Maria Bottalla was one of his assistants on the Barberini Ceiling. Sources for (W); while sources for (H). Source for MB is
(completed in 1664, the church of the Accademia di San Luca
, located in the Roman Forum
. While Cortona was principe or director of the Accademia from 1634–38, he obtained permission to dig in the crypt of the church, which led the likely mistaken finding of remains attributed to the first century Roman martyr and Saint Martina. This discovery led to further patronage for construction of the church. The layout is almost a Greek cross, with four nearly identical wings extending from the striking central dome. Much of the ground structure is undecorated, above intricately decorated. The overwhelmingly vertical decoration of the facade is granted liveliness by horizontal convexity. In his will, this bachelor called this church his beloved daughter.
He also renovated the exterior renewal of the ancient Santa Maria della Pace
(1656–1667), and the façade
(with an unusual loggia
) of Santa Maria in Via Lata
(appr. 1660).
Another influential work for its day was the design and decoration of the Villa Pigneto
commissioned by the Marchese Sacchetti. This garden palace or casino gathered a variety of features in a novel fashion, including a garden facade with convex arms, and highly decorated niches, and elaborate tiered staircases surrounding a fountain.
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...
painter of his time and also one of the key architects in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important decorator. Cortona worked mainly in Rome and Florence.
Early Career
Berrettini was born into a family of artisans and masons , in CortonaCortona
Cortona is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic center of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.-History:...
, then a town in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...
. He trained in painting in Florence under Andrea Commodi
Andrea Commodi
Andrea Commodi was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period. Born in Florence, but mostly active in Rome, he was a pupil of the painter Cigoli. He painted frescoes in the sacristy of San Carlo ai Catinari and a Fall of the Angels now in the Accademia gallery in Florence...
, but soon he departed for Rome at around 1612/3, where he joined the studio of Baccio Ciarpi
Baccio Ciarpi
Baccio Ciarpi was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerism and early-Baroque style. Born in Barga in Tuscany, he was active in Rome and Florence. He is best known for having mentored briefly Pietro da Cortona. He painted a number of canvases, including a Madonna del Rosario and Crucifixion with...
. He was involved in fresco decorations at the Palazzo Mattei
Palazzo Mattei
thumb|250px|right|The courtyard of the Palazzo Mattei di Giove.The Palazzo Mattei di Giove is the most prominent among a group of Mattei houses that forms the insula Mattei in Rome, Italy, a block of buildings of many epochs...
in 1622-3 under the direction of Agostino Ciampelli
Agostino Ciampelli
Agostino Ciampelli was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He trained with Santi di Tito in Florence, and painted in Rome under Clement VIII, including a Crucifixion for Santa Prassede and a Saint Giovanni Gualberto in its sacristy; Angels on the walls above the choirstalls in the apse...
and Cardinal Orsini had commissioned from him an Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1626) for San Salvatore in Lauro
San Salvatore in Lauro
San Salvatore in Lauro is a Catholic church in central Rome, Italy, located in the rione Ponte. It is the "national church" of the marchigiani, the inhabitants of the Marche region of Italy...
.
In Rome, he had encouragement from many prominent patrons. According to Cortona's biographers his gifted copy of Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
's Galatea fresco brought him to the attention of Marcello Sacchetti, papal treasurer during the Barberini
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
papacy. Such contacts helped him gain an early major commission in Rome (1624–1626), a fresco decoration in the church of Santa Bibiana
Santa Bibiana
Santa Bibiana is a small church in Rome, devoted to St Bibiana. It was initially built by Pope Simplicius, and consecrated in 467. The church was restored by Pope Honorius III in 1224....
that was being renovated under the direction of Bernini. In 1626, the Sacchetti family engaged Cortona to paint three large canvases of The Sacrifice of Polyxena, The Triumph of Bacchus, and The Rape of the Sabines (the latter, c. 1629), and to paint a series of frescoes in the Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano
Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano
The Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano is near Ostia, the port of ancient Rome. It was built between 1624-8 for the Sacchetti family, close associates of Pope Urban VIII, and was the first architectural work of Pietro da Cortona who became the foremost painter of his day and a leading architect in the...
, near Ostia
Ostia Antica (district)
thumb|300px|The Castle of Julius II in Ostia Antica.thumb|300px|The square of Ostia Antica, with the church of Santa Aurea on the right.Ostia Antica is a district in the commune of Rome, Italy, five kilometers away from the coast. It is distinct from Ostia.- History :Under the Romans, Ostia Antica...
, using a team that included the young Andrea Sacchi
Andrea Sacchi
Andrea Sacchi was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors Alessandro Algardi and François Duquesnoy, and the contemporary biographer Giovanni...
. In the Sacchetti orbit, he met Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
and Cardinal Francesco Barberini
Francesco Barberini (seniore)
Francesco Barberini was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. The nephew of Pope Urban VIII , he benefited immensely from the nepotism practiced by his uncle...
, the papal nephew, and their patronage of Cortona provided him with ample scope to demonstrate his abilities as a painter of frescoes and canvases.
Grand Salon of Palazzo Barberini
Fresco cycles were numerous in Cortona's Rome; most represented framed episodes imitating canvases such as found in the Sistine ChapelSistine 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 or in Carracci
Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...
s' The Loves of the Gods
The Loves of the Gods (Carracci)
The Loves of the Gods is a monumental fresco cycle, completed by the Bolognese artist Annibale Carracci and his studio, in the Farnese Gallery which is located in the west wing of the Palazzo Farnese, now the French Embassy) in Rome, Italy...
in the Farnese gallery (completed 1601). In 1633, Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
(Maffeo Barberini) commissioned from Cortona a large fresco painting for the ceiling of the Barberini
Barberini
The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...
family palace; the Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini is a palace in Rome, facing the piazza of the same name in Rione Trevi and is home to the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.-History:...
. Completed six years later, the huge Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power
Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power (Cortona)
The Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power is a fresco by Italian painter Pietro da Cortona, filling the large ceiling of the grand salon of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, Italy. Begun in 1633, it was nearly finished in three years; upon Cortona's return from Venice, it was extensively...
marks a watershed in Baroque painting. A putative sketch of the plan, of doubtful authenticity, is exhibited in the hall. The fresco is an illusion
Illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
with the central field apparently open to the sky and scores of figures seen 'al di sotto in su' apparently coming into the room itself or floating above it. It contains endless number of heraldic symbols and subthemes.
Cortona's panegyric trompe l'oeil
Trompe l'oeil
Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English as trompe l'oeil, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.-History in painting:Although the phrase has its origin in...
extavaganzas have lost favor in minimalist times, yet they are precursors of sunny and cherubim infested rococo excesses. They contrast starkly with darker renegade naturalism prominent in Caravaggisti
Caravaggisti
The Caravaggisti were stylistic followers of the 16th century Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never established a workshop as most other painters did, and thus had no...
, and remind us that the Baroque style was not monolithic. Cortona, like Bernini in sculpture, appears reactionary, patronizing; yet if excellence in art is measured by the ability to match style to intent within the limitations of the medium, then Cortona was triumphant. He was among the first of the fresco painters that dispensed with the architectural masonry of the roof, erasing it away with painted integral architecture and a broad, non-framed vista. While rising heavenward, works like the Barberini Allegory are meant to stagger and humble the visitor, who seems to stand over, and not below, a looming abyss of mythic power that threatens to overwhelm the viewer.
Frescoes in Palazzo Pitti
Cortona had been patronized by the Tuscan community in Rome, hence it was not surprising when he was passing through FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in 1637, that he should be asked by Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici
Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando II de' Medici was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest child of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. His 49 year rule was punctuated by the terminations of the remaining operations of the Medici Bank, and the beginning of Tuscany's long economic...
to paint a series of frescoes intended to represent the four ages of man in a small room, the Sala della Stufa, in the Palazzo Pitti
Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti , in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio...
. The first two represented the "ages" of silver and gold. In 1641, he was recalled to paint the 'Bronze Age' and 'Iron Age' frescoes.
He began work on the decoration of the grand-ducal reception rooms on the first floor of the Palazzo Pitti, now part of the Palatine Gallery. In these five Planetary Rooms, the hierarchical sequence of the deities is based on Ptolomeic cosmology; Venus, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter (the Medici Throne room) and Saturn, but minus Mercury and the Moon which should have come before Venus. These highly ornate ceilings with frescoes and elaborate stucco work essentially celebrate the Medici lineage and the bestowal of virtuous leadership. Pietro left Florence in 1647, and his pupil and collaborator, Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona.He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresco decorations of the Quirinal Palace...
, completed the cycle by the 1660s.
Late works
For a number of years, Cortona was involved for decades in the decoration of the ceiling frescoes in the Oratorian Chiesa Nuova (Santa Maria in VallicellaSanta Maria in Vallicella
Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele...
) in Rome, a work not finished until 1665. Other frescoes are in Palazzo Pamphilj
Palazzo Pamphilj
Palazzo Pamphilj, also spelled Palazzo Pamphili, is a palace facing onto the Piazza Navona in Rome. It was built between 1644 and 1650.Since 1920 the palace has housed the Brazilian Embassy in Italy, and in 1964 it became the property of the Federative Republic of Brazil.-History:In 1644, Cardinal...
in Piazza Navona (1651-4).
Towards the end of his life he devoted much of his time to architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, but he published a treatise on painting in 1652 under a pseudonym and in collaboration. He refused invitations to both France and Spain.
Debate with Andrea Sacchi
He was elected as director of the Academy of St Luke the painter's guild in Rome, in 1634. It was at the Academy in 1636 that Cortona and Andrea SacchiAndrea Sacchi
Andrea Sacchi was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors Alessandro Algardi and François Duquesnoy, and the contemporary biographer Giovanni...
were involved in theoretical controversies regarding the number of figures that were appropriate in a painted work.
Sacchi argued for few figures, since he felt it was not possible to grant meaningful individuality, a distinct role, to more than a few figures per scene. Cortona, on the other hand, lobbied for an art that could accommodate many subplots to a central concept. In addition, he also likely viewed the possibility of using many human figures in decorative detail or to represent a general concept. Sacchi's position would be reinforced in future years by Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
. Others have seen in this dichotomy, the long-standing debate whether visual art is about theoretical principles and meant to narrate a full story, or a painterly decorative endeavor, meant to delight the senses. Cortona was a director of the Accademia from 1634-1638.
Cortona employed or trained many prominent artists, who then disseminated his grand manner style. Apart from Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona.He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresco decorations of the Quirinal Palace...
, others that worked in his studio included:
| Painter | Dates | Birthplace | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (H) | |||
| Lazzaro Baldi Lazzaro Baldi Lazzaro Baldi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.-Biography:Baldi was born in Pistoia and died in Rome. He was part of the large studio of Pietro da Cortona, and became adept at fresco technique. He painted a David and Goliath for Alexander VII in the Palazzo... |
1623–1703 | Pistoia, moved to Rome | (H)(W) |
| Francesco Bonifazio | (H)(W) | ||
| Lorenzo Berrettini (Cortona's nephew) | Florence | (W) | |
| Giovanni Ventura Borghesi Giovanni Ventura Borghesi Giovanni Ventura Borghesi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.Born in Città di Castello, he was a pupil of the painter Pietro da Cortona and completed some of Cortona's unfinished works. He painted an Annunciation and Coronation of the Virgin for San Nicola da... |
1640–1708 | Rome | (H)(W) |
| Giovanni Maria Bottala Giovanni Maria Bottala Giovanni Maria Bottala was an Italian painter active in the Baroque period.He was born in Savona. He traveled to Rome as a young boy, and later became pupil of Pietro da Cortona in Rome. He painted in Rome, Naples, and Genoa. He was taken into the patronage of Cardinal Giulio Sacchetti, for whom... |
1613- | Naples | (H) |
| Andrea Camassei Andrea Camassei Andrea Camassei was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver, who was mainly active in Rome under the patronage of the Barberini.He was born in Bevagna. He was active in painting in the Palazzo Barberini as well as in Antonio Barberini's favored church, Santa Maria della Concezione, where he... |
1602–1649 | Bevagna, moved to Rome | (W) |
| Salvi Castellucci Salvi Castellucci Salvi Castellucci was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Arezzo.He trained in Rome with Pietro da Cortona. His son, Pietro Castelllucci painted in his style.-References:... |
1608–1672 | Florence | (H)(W) |
| Carlo Cesi | 1626–1686 | (H)(W) | |
| Giovanni Coli Giovanni Coli Giovanni Coli was an Italian painter from Lucca, active in the Baroque style.He trained with Pietro Paolini in Lucca and then moved to Rome to work under Pietro da Cortona. He often worked alongside Filippo Gherardi. With Coli, Gherardi was initially a trainee of Pietro Paolini in Lucca... |
?-1681 | (H)(W) | |
| Guglielmo Cortese (Il Borgognone) | (H)(W) | ||
| Vincenzo Dandini Vincenzo Dandini Vincenzo Dandini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. He was a pupil of his brother, Cesare Dandini in Florence, then he moved to Rome and worked in the studio of Pietro da Cortona. Among his pupils were Giovanni Battista Marmi and Antonio Domenico Gabbiani... |
1607- | Florence | (W)(W) |
| Nicholas Duval | 1644- | The Hague | (H) |
| Onofrio Gabriello | 1616–1706 | Messina | (H) |
| Camillo Gabbrielli | (W) | ||
| Giacinto Gimignani Giacinto Gimignani Giacinto Gimignani was an Italian painter, active mainly in Rome, during the Baroque period.Gimignani was born in Pistoia, where his father, Alessio was also a painter and former pupil of Jacopo Ligozzi... |
1611–1681 | Pistoia, moved to Rome | (H)(W) |
| Filippo Gherardi Filippo Gherardi Filippo Gherardi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.Born in Lucca, he was mostly active in Venice and Rome, where he became a member of the large studio of Pietro da Cortona, often working closely with Giovanni Coli. With Coli, Gherardi was initially a trainee of Pietro Paolini in Lucca... |
1643–1701 | (H)(W) | |
| Paolo Gismondi | 1612–1685 | Perugia | (H)(W) |
| Luca Giordano Luca Giordano Luca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain.... |
1632 | Naples | (H) |
| Giovanni Battista Langetti | 1635–1676 | Genoa | (H) |
| Pietro Lucatelli Pietro Lucatelli Pietro Lucatelli was an Italian painter active during the Baroque period in Rome. He was born near Rome. He was a pupil of Ciro Ferri and Pietro da Cortona, and his pictures in the church of Sant' Agostino and the Palazzo Colonna show boldness and freedom of coloring... |
(W) | ||
| Giovanni Marracci Giovanni Marracci Giovanni Marracci was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, who trained in Rome in the studio of Pietro da Cortona, but worked independently in Lucca and neighboring towns. Among his masterpieces is a Coronation of Santa Teresa... |
1637–1704 | Lucca | (H)(W) |
| Livio Mehus Livio Mehus Livio Mehus was an Flemish painter and engraver of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. Born in Oudenaarde in Flanders. After an obscure training in Milan with a battle-painter, he traveled at the age of 15 years to Rome, he found a powerful patron in Prince Matthias of Tuscany... (Lieven Mehus) |
1630–1691 | (Active Florence) | (H)(W) |
| Giovanni Battista Natali Giovanni Battista Natali Giovanni Battista Natali was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active in his natal city of Piacenza, but also Savona, Lucca, and Naples, and finally Genoa in 1736-References:... |
1630–1700 | (H) | |
| Adriano Palladino Adriano Palladino Adriano Palladino was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born and active in Cortona, although he was a pupil of Pietro da Cortona in Rome.-References:... |
1610–1680 | Cortona | (MB) |
| Bartolomeo Palommo | 1612- | Rome | (H) |
| Pio Paolino | ? -1681 | Udine | (H) |
| Giovanni Quagliata Giovanni Quagliata Giovanni Quagliata was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He is more properly known in Italy as Giovan Battista Quagliata , one of the leading artists of the Messinesi painters of the 17th century, as described by Francesco Susinno in his book "The Lives of the Messinesi Painters" published... |
1603–1673 | Messina | |
| Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Giovanni Francesco Romanelli was an Italian painter of the Baroque.Romanelli was an Italian painter of the seventeenth century and trained in Rome in the studio of Pietro da Cortona, the leading painter of the time.... |
1617–1662 | (H)(W) | |
| Pietro Paolo Ubaldini | (13) | (H)(W) | |
| Raffaello Vanni Raffaello Vanni Raffaello Vanni was an Italian painter of the Baroque.He was born at Siena. He first trained with his father, Francesco Vanni, who died in 1603. He was afterwards sent to Rome, and recommended to the care of Antonio Carracci. He became a follower of the style of Pietro da Cortona. He painted a ... |
(W) | ||
| Adriano Zabarelli | (W) | ||
Romanelli and Camassei also trained under Domenichino. Giovanni Maria Bottalla was one of his assistants on the Barberini Ceiling. Sources for (W); while sources for (H). Source for MB is
Architectural projects
Among Cortona's more important architectural projects are the church of Santi Luca e MartinaSanti Luca e Martina
Santi Luca e Martina is a church in Rome, Italy, situated between the Roman Forum and the Forum of Caesar and close to the Arch of Septimus Severus.-History:...
(completed in 1664, the church of the Accademia di San Luca
Accademia di San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca, was founded in 1577 as an association of artists in Rome, under the directorship of Federico Zuccari, with the purpose of elevating the work of "artists", which included painters, sculptors and architects, above that of mere craftsmen. Other founders included Girolamo...
, located in the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
. While Cortona was principe or director of the Accademia from 1634–38, he obtained permission to dig in the crypt of the church, which led the likely mistaken finding of remains attributed to the first century Roman martyr and Saint Martina. This discovery led to further patronage for construction of the church. The layout is almost a Greek cross, with four nearly identical wings extending from the striking central dome. Much of the ground structure is undecorated, above intricately decorated. The overwhelmingly vertical decoration of the facade is granted liveliness by horizontal convexity. In his will, this bachelor called this church his beloved daughter.
He also renovated the exterior renewal of the ancient Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona.The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV. The church was rededicated to the Virgin Mary to remember a...
(1656–1667), and the façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
(with an unusual loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
) of Santa Maria in Via Lata
Santa Maria in Via Lata
Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso , in Rome, Italy.-History:It is claimed that St. Paul spent two years here, in the crypt under the church, whilst under house arrest waiting for his trial. This conflicts with the tradition regarding San Paolo alla Regola...
(appr. 1660).
Another influential work for its day was the design and decoration of the Villa Pigneto
Villa Pigneto del Marchese Sacchetti
The Villa Pigneto or Sacchetti, or also the Casino al Pigneto del Marchese Sacchetti is a villa in Rome, designed by the Baroque artist Pietro da Cortona. A second, plainer, Villa Sacchetti, now called Villa Chigi, is found at Castelfusano near Ostia and was decorated by Cortona...
commissioned by the Marchese Sacchetti. This garden palace or casino gathered a variety of features in a novel fashion, including a garden facade with convex arms, and highly decorated niches, and elaborate tiered staircases surrounding a fountain.
Anatomical plates
Prior to becoming famous as an architect, Pietro drew anatomical plates that would not be engraved and published until a hundred years after his death. The plates in Tabulae anatomicae are now thought to have been started around 1618. The dramatic and highly studied poses effected by the figures are in keeping with the style of other Renaissance Baroque anatomical artists, although nowhere does such an approach find any fuller expression than in these plates.External links
- anatomicae
- Pietro da Cortona, A Design for a Quarantore at San Lorenzo in DamasoSan Lorenzo in DamasoSan Lorenzo in Damaso is a basilica church in Rome, Italy, one of several dedicated to the Roman deacon and martyr Saint Lawrence...
, c.1632