Showing posts with label Maratta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maratta. Show all posts

14 Paintings, scenes from the Bible, by The Old Masters, Andrea Vicentino, Andrea Vaccaro, Guido Reni, Francesco Capella, Carlo Maratta, Robert Campin, Matteo Rosselli, Niccolò Tornioli and Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, with footnotes # 35

Andrea Vicentino, (1539-1614)
The Crusaders Conquering the City of Zara in 1202
Oil on canvas
Sala del Maggior Consiglio, Venezia, Italy

Andrea Vicentino (c. 1542 – 1617) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period. He was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Battista Maganza. Born in Vicenza, he was also known as Andrea Michieli or Michelli. He moved to Venice in the mid-1570s and registered in the “Fraglia” or guild of Venetian painters in 1583. He worked alongside Tintoretto at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, helping paint Arrival of Henry III at Venice (c. 1593) at the Sala delle Quattro Porte of the Ducal palace, as well as works in the Sala del Senato and dello Scrutinio. He also painted the altarpiece of Madonna of the Rosary (c. 1590) for the cathedral of Treviso, God the Father with Three Theological Virtues (1598) for the church in Gambara, and St Charles Borromeo (c. 1605) for a church in Mestre.Paintings by him exist in a number of galleries including the 'Raising of Lazarus' at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta, Malta. More on Andrea Vicentino

The Siege of Zara or Siege of Zadar (10–24 November 1202) was the first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders. The crusaders had an agreement with Venice for transport across the sea, but the price far exceeded what they were able to pay. Venice set the condition that the crusaders help them capture Zadar (or Zara), a constant battleground between Venice on one side and Croatia and Hungary on the other, whose king, Emeric, pledged himself to join the Crusade. Although a part of the crusaders refused to take part in the siege, the attack on Zadar began in November 1202 despite letters from Pope Innocent III forbidding such an action and threatening excommunication. Zadar fell on 24 November and the Venetians and the crusaders sacked the city. After spending the winter in Zadar the Fourth Crusade continued its campaign, which led to the Siege of Constantinople. More on The Siege of Zara or Siege of Zadar

ATTRIBUTED TO ANDREA VACCARO, (ITALIAN 1604-1670)
Saint Agatha of Sicily (231 AD – 251 AD) 
oil on canvas
92.8 x 72.3 cm (36 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.)
Private Collection

Was Estimated for $8,000 – $12,000 but sold for $2,560 in December 2016

Saint Agatha of Sicily (231 AD – 251 AD) is a Christian saint and virgin martyr. Agatha was born at Catania or Palermo, Sicily, and she was martyred in approximately 251. She is one of seven women, who, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. 

She is the patron saint of Catania, Molise, Malta, San Marino, and Zamarramala, a municipality of the Province of Segovia in Spain. She is also the patron saint of breast cancer patients, martyrs, wet nurses, bell-founders, bakers, fire, earthquakes, and eruptions of Mount Etna. 

Although the martyrdom of Saint Agatha is authenticated, and her veneration as a saint had spread beyond her native place even in antiquity, there is no reliable information concerning the details of her death. According to Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda Aurea of ca. 1288, having dedicated her virginity to God,[ fifteen-year-old Agatha, from a rich and noble family, rejected the amorous advances of the low-born Roman prefect Quintianus, who then persecuted her for her Christian faith. He sent Agatha to Aphrodisia, the keeper of a brothel. The madam finding her intractable, Quintianus sent for her, argued, threatened, and finally had her put in prison. Amongst the tortures she underwent was the cutting off of her breasts with pincers. After further dramatic confrontations with Quintianus, represented in a sequence of dialogues in her passio that document her fortitude and steadfast devotion, Saint Agatha was then sentenced to be burnt at the stake, but an earthquake saved her from that fate; instead, she was sent to prison where St. Peter the Apostle appeared to her and healed her wounds. Saint Agatha died in prison, according to the Legenda Aurea in "the year of our Lord two hundred and fifty-three in the time of Decius, the emperor of Rome." More on Saint Agatha of Sicily

Andrea Vaccaro (baptised on 8 May 1604 – 18 January 1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Vaccaro was in his time one of the most successful painters in Naples, a city then under Spanish rule. Very successful and valued in his lifetime, Vaccaro and his workshop produced many religious works for local patrons as well as for export to Spanish religious orders and noble patrons. More on Andrea Vaccaro

Follower of Guido Reni
LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS
oil on canvas
132 x 160 cm.; 52 x 63 in
Private Collection

Sold for 18,750 GBP in December 2016 

Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style. Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. When Reni was about twenty years old he migrated to the rising rival studio, named Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the "newly embarked", or progressives), led by Lodovico Carracci. He went on to form the nucleus of a prolific and successful school of Bolognese painters who followed Annibale Carracci to Rome. Like many other Bolognese painters, Reni's painting was thematic and eclectic in style. More on Guido Reni

Lot and His Daughters. Genesis 19:30-38

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[a]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[b]; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. More on Lot and His Daughters

Francesco Capella, called Daggiù, VENICE 1714 - 1784 BERGAMO
THE MADONNA AND CHILD
Oil on canvas
80.3 x 63.9 cm.; 31 5/8  x 28 1/8  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 6.250 GBP in Dec 2016

Francesco Capella (1714–1784), called Il Capella and Francesco Dagiu, was a scholar of Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. He was born in Venice, Italy. He painted history, and was chiefly employed for the churches at Bergamo, and by the state. One of his best pictures is 'St. George and the Dragon,' in the church of San Bonate. More on Francesco Capella

Studio of Carlo Maratta, CAMERANO 1625 - 1713 ROME
THE MADONNA AND CHILD WITH THE INFANT SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, SAINT CECILIA AND AN ANGEL
Oil on canvas
129.5 x 107.5 cm.; 51 x 42 3/8  in
Private Collection

Sold for 13,125 GBP in Dec 2016

Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.

According to the story, despite her vow of virginity, she was forced by her parents to marry a nobleman named Valerian. During the wedding, Cecilia sat apart singing to God in her heart, and for that she was later declared the saint of musicians. When the time came for her marriage to be consummated, Cecilia told Valerian that she had an angel of the Lord watching over her who would punish him if he dared to violate her virginity but who would love him if he could respect her maidenhood. When Valerian asked to see the angel, Cecilia replied that he would see the angel if he would go to the third milestone on the Via Appia (the Appian Way) and be baptized by Pope Urbanus.] After his baptism, he found an angel standing by the side of Cecilia, and crowning her with a chaplet of roses and lilies.

The martyrdom of Cecilia is said to have followed that of Valerian and his brother by the prefect Turcius Almachius. The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church. More on Saint Cecilia

John the Baptist, known as the prophet Yahya in the Qur'an, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions.

John used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement.[ Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus. Scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. Some scholars maintain that John was influenced by the semi-ascetic Essenes, who expected an apocalypse and practiced rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although no direct evidence substantiates this.

According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself, and Jesus was the one whose coming John foretold. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. More on John the Baptist

Studio of Carlo Maratta, CAMERANO 1625 - 1713 ROME was an Italian painter, the leading painter in Rome in the latter part of the 17th century. As the pupil of Andrea Sacchi he continued the tradition of the classical Grand Manner, based on Raphael, and he gained an international reputation particularly for his paintings of the Madonna and Child, which are reworkings of types established during the High Renaissance. The rhetorical splendour of his work is thoroughly in the Baroque idiom, however, and the numerous altarpieces he painted for Roman churches (many still in situ) give whole-hearted expression to the dogmas of the Counter-Reformation. Maratta was also an accomplished fresco painter, and the finest portraitist of the day in Rome. He had a large studio and his posthumous reputation suffered when the inferior works of his many pupils and imitators were confused with his own paintings. More on Carlo Maratta

Workshop of Robert Campin (Netherlandish, ca. 1375–1444 Tournai)
Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece), Date:ca. 1427–32
Oil on oak
Dimensions:Overall (open): 25 3/8 x 46 3/8 in. (64.5 x 117.8 cm) Central panel: 25 1/4 x 24 7/8 in. (64.1 x 63.2 cm) each wing: 25 3/8 x 10 3/4 in. (64.5 x 27.3 cm)
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Having just entered the room, the angel Gabriel is about to tell the Virgin Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. The golden rays pouring in through the left oculus carry a miniature figure with a cross. On the right wing, Joseph, who is betrothed to the Virgin, works in his carpenter’s shop, drilling holes in a board. The mousetraps on the bench and in the shop window opening onto the street are thought to allude to references in the writings of Saint Augustine identifying the cross as the devil’s mousetrap. On the left wing, the kneeling donor appears to witness the central scene through the open door. His wife kneels behind him, and a town messenger stands at the garden gate. The owners would have purchased the triptych to use in private prayer. An image of Christ’s conception in an interior not unlike the one in which they lived also may have reinforced their hope for their own children. 

Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified as the artist known as the Master of Flémalle, is usually considered the first great master of Flemish and Early Netherlandish painting. His identity and the attribution of the paintings in the "Campin group" has been a matter of controversy for decades. His life is relatively well documented for the period, but he did not sign his paintings, and none could be securely connected with him, whilst a corpus of work attached to the unidentified "Master of Flémalle".

By 1406 he was active in Tournai, in today's Belgium. His early work shows the influence of the International Gothic painters the Limbourg brothers (1385 – 1416) and Melchior Broederlam (c. 1350 – c.1409), but display a realistic observation than any earlier artists, which he achieved through innovations in the use of oil paints. He was successful in his lifetime, and the recipient of a number of civic commissions. Campin taught both Rogier van der Weyden and Jacques Daret. He was a contemporary of Jan van Eyck, they met in 1427. Campin's best known work is the Mérode Altarpiece, dated c 1425-28, now in New York. More on Robert Campin

Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444)
St Veronica, c. 1410
Oil on Canvas
Städel, Frankfurt am Main

Saint Veronica is known as the woman who offered a cloth to Jesus so He could wipe His face on the way to His crucifixion. The cloth is believed to exist today in the Vatican and is considered one of the most treasured relics of the Church.

Saint Veronica is not mentioned in the Bible, but is known to us by Catholic tradition and in the Sixth Station of the Cross, "Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus."

Legend states that as Christ was walking to Calvary, his face dripping with sweat and blood, Saint Veronica, a bystander, was moved with compassion. She approached Jesus and offered Him a cloth, likely her veil, which He accepted and used to wipe His face.

The image of his face was subsequently imprinted on the cloth. More on Saint Veronica

Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444), see above

Robert Campin, (1375/1379–1444)
The Marriage of Mary, c 1420
Grisaille, Oil on oak table
77 × 88 cm (30.3 × 34.6 in)
Prado Museum, Madrid

Two scenes are represented in this work. On the left, in a circular, Romanesque interior covered with a dome, we see The Miracle of the Flowered Staff, which designated Joseph as the husband of Mary. In the building´s stained-glass windows, capitals and tympana are scenes from the Old Testament that foreshadow or announce others from the New Testament, such as the sacrifice of Isaac, which prefigures the Redemption of Christ. On the right is a depiction of the betrothal of Mary and Joseph under a gothic portico, announcing the imminent arrival of the New Law. In this, one of his earliest works, Campin maintains the characteristic exoticism of the international style, combined with Flemish naturalism and the clear depiction of the quality of things. The figures of Saint Claire and Saint James the Elder are painted on the back in grisaille, in a sculptural manner. Attributed to Roger van der Weyden for some time, this panel entered El Escorial in 1584, arriving at the Prado Museum in 1839. More on this painting

The Marriage of the Virgin is the subject in Christian art depicting the marriage of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. Unlike many other scenes in Life of the Virgin cycles (like the Nativity of Mary and Presentation of Mary), it is not a feast in the church calendar.

In art the subject could be covered in several different scenes, and the betrothal of Mary, with Joseph's blossoming rod, was often shown, despite its apocryphal origin. Wedding processions are also shown, especially in the Early Medieval period. More on The Marriage of the Virgin

The Golden Legend recounts how, when Mary was 14 and living in the Temple, the High Priest gathered all male descendants of David of marriageable age including Saint Joseph (though he was much older than the rest). The High Priest ordered them to each bring a rod; he that owned the rod which would bear flowers was divinely ordained to become Mary's husband. After the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and caused Joseph's rod to blossom, he and Mary were wed according to Jewish custom.  More on The Golden Legend

Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444), see above

Master of Saint Augustine, (Netherlandish, ca. 1490)
Scenes from the Life of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Date:ca. 1490
Oil, gold, and silver on wood
54 1/4 x 59 in. (137.8 x 149.9 cm) gr. thickness: 3/8 in. (1 cm)
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting was the central panel of a triptych dedicated to Saint Augustine (354–430), a Christian theologian so celebrated that he is sometimes called a Doctor of the Church. The composition is divided into five scenes: in the center, Saint Augustine is consecrated bishop of Hippo Regius, a Roman city in present-day Algeria; in the upper left, Saint Augustine is ordained as a priest; in the lower left, Saint Augustine preaches while his mother, Monica, anachronistically says the rosary, a prayer regimen of the late Middle Ages. At the upper right, Saint Augustine converses with a boy who says that filling a hole in the sand with the sea is no more difficult than explaining the Trinity; and in the lower right, Saint Augustine preaches. In the windows behind the altar at the right are kneeling figures of a man and woman, along with coats of arms. Might these be clues to the original place for which the altarpiece was created, or are they pure inventions? Of particular interest in this panel are the detailed and richly depicted varieties of ecclesiastical vestments and altar implements, many examples of which are similar to works displayed in the Cloisters’ Treasury. More on this painting

St. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354 - 430) was an Algerian-Roman philosopher and theologian of the late Roman / early Medieval) period. He is one of the most important early figures in the development of Western Christianity, and was a major figure in bringing Christianity to dominance in the previously pagan Roman Empire. He is often considered the father of orthodox theology and the greatest of the four great fathers of the Latin Church (along with St. Ambrose, St. Jerome and St. Gregory).

Unlike the later Scholastics who took Aristotle as the classical model to be integrated into Christian thought, Augustine developed a philosophical and theological system which employed elements of Plato and Neo-Platonism in support of Christian orthodoxy. His many works profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. More on St. Augustine of Hippo

The Master of the Saint Augustine Altarpiece (sometimes called the Master of the Augustinians' Altarpiece) was a German painter, active in Nuremberg during the second half of the 15th century. His work indicates familiarity with the work of both Martin Schöngauer and the Master of the Housebook. More on The Master of the Saint Augustine

Lombard School, 17th Century
SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST
old inventory number brushed on reverse: 36
Oil on canvas
90.8 x 75 cm.; 35 3/4  x 29 1/2  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 500 GBP in Dec 2016

John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, though this has been disputed by modern scholars.

Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle. A historical figure, one of the "pillars" of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death. He was one of the original twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have lived into old age and not be killed for his faith. John is associated with the city of Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried. Some believe that he was exiled (around 95 AD) to the Aegean island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. More on John the Evangelist 

He wrote to the seven Christian churches in Asia to warn them of various challenges and temptations that confront them, which have been revealed to him in a vision. He then relates several additional powerful visions concerning the Last Days and the Second Coming of Christ. More on John the Evangelist

Lombard School; a school of art in Northern Italy. Lombard architecture developed from the eighth to tenth centuries. The establishment of Christianity as the Lombards’ official religion fostered the rise of an independent school of architecture that played a decisive role in the development of the Romanesque style in Italy.
Lombard trecento and early quattrocento painting, which developed within the framework of the late, or international, Gothic style, is noted for a delicate elegance of form and direct, poetic observations of the real world. Pisanello played an important role in the development of Lombard quattrocento painting.
In the second half of the 15th century, Florentine art and the work of Mantegna particularly influenced Lombard painting. The works of masters of this period were marked by plastic clarity of composition, a softer palette, and an increased interest in chiaroscuro modeling. During the High Renaissance the impact of Leonardo da Vinci was paramount, with his Milanese pupils creating works permeated by contemplative and sentimental moods. In the second quarter of the 16th century, the traditions of the Lombard quattrocento combined with Venetian and northern influences, resulting in the rise of the separate Brescian school. During the 16th century and the baroque period, the inner unity of the Lombard school was lost. More Lombard School

Lombard School, 17th Century
CHRIST WASHING THE APOSTLES' FEET
Oil on canvas
195.5 x 291 cm.; 77 x 114 1/2  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 12,500 GBP in Dec 2016

At the Last Supper, on the night before Jesus knew that He was going to die. He was about to be betrayed by Judas, one of His own disciples.  Jesus got up from the meal. He wrapped a towel around His waist. He poured water into a large bowl. Then He began to wash His disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

In those days, foot washing was needed in every home. The streets were dusty and dirty. Roads even had garbage and waste from the animals that traveled up and down the same streets. 

The dinner-time custom was to lean back around the table at the evening meal. Usually, the lowest servant in the household was expected to wash the feet of guests. Having your guests’ feet washed was a way to show honor to your guests.

Since the last supper was held in a private home, with just Jesus and His disciples, we can easily see why there were no servants there. More on Last Supper

Lombard School, 17th Century, see above

Matteo Rosselli, FLORENCE 1578 - 1650
THE HOLY FAMILY WITH THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE SHEPHERDS IN THE DISTANCE
Oil on canvas
119.7 x 105 cm.; 47 1/8  x 39 1/2  in
Private Collection

Estimate for 30,000 - 40,000 GBP in Dec 2016

Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter-Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. On 26 February 1599, he was inducted to the Accademia del Disegno, and in 1605 traveled to Rome to work with Domenico Passignano for six months.

He completed some frescoes on Lives of Servite Monks (1614–1618) in the Palazzo Pitti and in the Cloister of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata; a Madonna and child with St Francis altarpiece for the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence; and an Adoration of the Magi (1607) for the Church of Sant'Andrea in Montevarchi. He painted a Crucifixion (1613) now in the parish church at Scarperia. He painted a Last Supper (1614) now in Conservatorio di San Pier Martire.

Upon the French monarch's death, he was commissioned two commemorative paintings of events in the life of Henry IV: his visit to Nantes and Gaudabec (1610). He also completed an Assumption (1613) for the church of San Domenico in Pistoia. He painted a number of frescoes for the Casa Buonarroti based on events of Michelangelo's life.

The largest collection of Rosselli drawings is contained within the Louvre Museum, Paris, with many being preliminary sketches for other works. More on Matteo Rosselli

Niccolò Tornioli, SIENA 1606 - 1651 ROME
THE HOLY FAMILY
Oil on canvas
133.9 x 96 cm.; 52 3/4  x 38 1/8  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 43,750 GBP in December 2016 

Tornioli, whist known predominantly as painter of figurative religious scenes, is also known to have been a proficient painter of still lifes, a fact attested to by the inclusion of floral motifs in many of his mature works, and as seen in the scattered stems at the lower corner of this Holy Family.1 Ciampolini writes that this interest in the inclusion of floral still life elements may well have been a result Tornioli's endeavours to adopt the stylistic preferences of Roman patrons in preparation of his own move to Rome from Sienna in the 1640s. More on this painting

Niccolò Tornioli, SIENA 1606 - 1651 was an Italian painter. He was born in Siena in 1598 and was in Rome since 1633.

In 1640s he worked for Cardinal Bernardino Spada and his brother Virgilio Spada. Most of his preserved paintings are today in Galleria Spada in Rome.

He painted for the Spada chapel in the church of San Paolo in Bologna a Cain slaying Abel and a Jacob wrestling with Angel . More on Niccolò Tornioli

Follower of Bartolomeo Cavarozzi
THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
Oil on canvas
108.5 x 163 cm.; 42 3/4  x 64 1/8  in.
Private Collection

Sold for 8,750 GBP in Dec 2016

This painting was probably painted around 1617 by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, one of Caravaggio's most successful and accomplished followers. Such are its quality and dramatic impact that for several years after its rediscovery in 1987 the painting was associated with Caravaggio himself and it has been exhibited as such numerous times in the recent past. More on this painting

According to the Bible, God commands Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. After Isaac is bound to an altar, the angel of God stops Abraham at the last minute, saying "now I know you fear God." At this point, Abraham sees a ram caught in some nearby bushes and sacrifices the ram instead of Isaac. More on THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC

Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (15 February 1587 – 21 September 1625) was an Italian caravaggisti painter of the Baroque period active in Spain, alongside his master Giovanni Battista Crescenzi.

Bartolomeo was born at Viterbo, he traveled to Spain with his teacher to help paint and build the Pantheon at the Escorial. He adopted the style of Cristofano Roncalli. He painted a St Ursula and Her Companions with Pope Ciriacus and St Catherine of Alexandria (1608) for the Confraternità delle Sante Orsola e Caterina. He died in Rome.

Other sources attribute his training to Guercino, and indicate that he was active in the town of Viterbo, painting the Visitation (1622) for the Chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico, Saint Isidore for the Chiesa Collegiata di Sant'Angelo in Spata; a San Silvestro for the Church of the Confraternity of Jesus; a St Phillip Apostle for the Church of San Pietro del Castagno; a St Benedict for the lateral door of the Church of Monasterio della Duchessa; a Presentation at the Temple for the Church of the College of Doctors, and also painted a canvas for the Chapel of the Calabresi family in the church of Sant'Ignazio. A contemporary from Viterbo, Filippo Caparozzi, was a disciple of Giuseppe d'Arpino. More on Bartolomeo Cavarozzi





Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.

Acknowledgement: Shapiro, Sotheby's, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,



13 Drawings - RELIGIOUS ART - Drawings from the Bible by the Old Masters! 1

Artists: Giorgio Vasari, Carlo Maratta, Gioacchino Martorana, Paolo Caliari/Veronese, Ventura di Archangelo Salimbeni, Luca Cambiasi/Cangiagio, Guido Reni, Francesco Solimena, Doménikos Theotokopoulos, Francisco Rizi, Domenico Campagnola, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, Lazzaro Baldi

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)
The Coronation of the Virgin
Pen and brown ink
7 x 23 cm. (2 3/4 x 9 in)

Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian painter, architect, writer and historian, most famous for his "Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects", considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.

Often called "the first art historian", Vasari invented the genre of the encyclopedia of artistic biographies, which was first published in 1550. He was the first to use the term "Renaissance" (rinascita) in print, and he was responsible for our use of the term Gothic Art, though he only used the word Goth which he associated with the "barbaric" German style.  The book was partly rewritten and enlarged in 1568, with the addition of woodcut portraits of artists (some conjectural).

The work has a consistent and notorious bias in favour of Florentines and tends to attribute to them all the developments in Renaissance art... More

Circle of Carlo Maratta (1625-1713)
Study of Christ Child, with left arm outstretched grasping an apple, supported by the hand of another
Black chalk on laid paper 
24 x 17.5 cm. (9 1/2 x 6 7/8 in)

Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 1625 – 15 December 1713) 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 and particularly in his use of colour.

Circle of Gioacchino Martorana (c.1735-1779)
David La unta va da Samueli
Samuel anointing David, who kneels surrounded by figures
Pen and brown ink, with grey wash, over graphite
left 17 x 14 cm. (6 3/4 x 5 1/2 in)

Gioacchino Martorana ( Palermo , 1735 - 1779 ) was a painter Italian .
Son of the painter Pietro, from whom he received his the first art lessons. In 1749 he went to Rome for an apprenticeship from "the Conca", directed by Vasi, a disciple of his father.

Then Martorana was a student of Benefial, which was an Academic of San Luca, again thanks to recommendations of Vasi, whose daughter Caterina he married. In 1759 he returned to Rome to remain there until the early sixties. From 1764 he was active in the capital island Palero where he had art work commissions for churches and aristocratic palace. More

Follower of Paolo Veronese (1528-1588)
Adoration of the Shepherds, with St Jerome.
Pen and black ink, brown wash, heightened with white, on paper support laid onto canvas 
Bears inscription P Veronese
41 x 26.5 cm. (16 x 10 1/2 in)

Saint Jerome ( c.  347 – 30 September 420) was an Illyrian Latin Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, who also became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, born at Stridon, a village on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia. He is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin, and his commentaries on the Gospels. His list of writings is extensive. Known as the “protégé” of Pope Damasus I, who died in December of 384, Jerome became well known for outlining the type of lifestyle that was acceptable for Christians living in cosmopolitan centers like Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention to the lives of women and identified how a woman devoted to Jesus Christ should live her life. This concentration stemmed from his close patron relationships with several prominent female ascetics who were members of affluent Roman “senatorial families”. More

Paolo Caliari/Veronese (1528 – 19 April 1588) was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, most famous for large historical paintings of both religious and mythological subjects. With Titian, who was at least a generation older, and Tintoretto, ten years older, he was one of the "great trio that dominated Venetian painting of the cinquecento" or 16th-century late Renaissance.

He has always been appreciated for "the chromatic brilliance of his palette, the splendor and sensibility of his brushwork, the aristocratic elegance of his figures, and the magnificence of his spectacle", but his work has been felt "not to permit expression of the profound, the human, or the sublime", and of the "great trio" he has often been the least appreciated by modern criticism. More

Follower of Ventura Salimbeni (1568-1613)
The Marriage of the Virgin
Black chalk, touches of brown wash, on laid paper, with ruled border Inscribed West in black ink by a later hand
19.5 x 14 cm. (7 3/4 x 5 1/2 in) 
The present composition directly relates to an etching of the same subject by Salimbeni, printed circa 1590

The Marriage of the Virgin is the subject in Christian art depicting the marriage of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The marriage is not mentioned in the canonical Gospels but is covered in several apocryphal sources, and later redactions, notably the 14th century compilation the Golden Legend. Unlike many other scenes in Life of the Virgin cycles (like the Nativity of Mary and Presentation of Mary), it is not a feast in the church calendar. More

Ventura di Archangelo Salimbeni (also later called Bevilacqua; 20 January 1568 – 1613) was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker and among the last representatives of a style influenced by the earlier Sienese School of Quattrocento-Renaissance.He was born in Siena. and studied painting, under his father, Arcangelo Salimbeni.

He moved to Rome in 1588 to work, together with others, on the fresco painting of the Vatican Library under pope Sixtus V.

He got a commission for paintings in the Roman Jesuit Church of the Gesù and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. These paintings show the influence of the Mannerist Cavalier D'Arpino and Andrea Lillio.

Salimbeni returned to Siena in 1595. He was influenced by Federico Barocci as can be seen in the draperies, highlighted with abrupt changes of light and flickering surfaces, of his painting "Birth of a Virgin" in the San Domenico church in Ferrara (1607–1608).

He is known for detailed preparatory drawings, most of which are now in the Uffizi in Florence. At around 1600, he began painting the "Life of St Hyacinth" for the Sienese church of Santo Spirito. He continued to create paintings for churches throughout Italy, including Florence. At the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze, he frescoed lunettes (1605–1608) illustrating events in the history of the Servite Order. In the Duomo di San Salvatore, he executed a magnificent John the Baptist.

Around 1600, he got an assignment in Assisi for a fresco of the "Resurrection of Christ" and the "Dying Saint Clare is visited by the pope" in the vault of chapel of San Massimo in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

At the same time he was painting the "Vision of Gregory the Great" and the "Punishment of David" in the Basilica of San Pietro in Perugia. He invested with the Order of the Golden Spur, a very selective papal order. 

His last work of art was the oil painting the "Marriage of the Virgin" for the Seminario Diocesano in Foligno in 1613. More

Luca Cambiaso (1527-1585)
St Mark with an open book, and lion at his side
Pen and brown ink, with brown wash, over touches of black chalk, on laid paper 
37 x 27.5 cm. (14 1/2 x 10 3/4 in)

About this work: A large and dramatic drawing that captures both the pace and distinctive draughtsmanship of Cambiaso. The scale and controlled handling of the ink is reminiscent of Cambiaso's Hercules shooting his bow (Ercole tirando il suo arco), 1544-50. The inclusion of the bed of clouds that St Jerome sits upon in the present composition, and which engulfs the lower right corner of the work. The drawing was possibly one of several preliminary studies that Cambiaso would have executed before reaching the final design, which includes two lions, amongst other differences. 


Luca Cambiasi/Cangiagio (18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585) was an Italian painter and draftsman, familiarly known as Lucchetto da Genova. He was born at Moneglia, the Republic of Genoa, the son of a painter named Giovanni Cambiasi.

Cambiasi was precocious, and painting at the age of fifteen. In 1544, at the age of seventeen, he was involved in the decoration of the Palazzo Doria, now the Prefettura. He aided in the vault decoration of the church of San Matteo. 

The 1911 Britannica states that Cambiasi by his thirties began to decline in skill, though not at once in reputation, owing to the vexations brought upon him by a passion which he conceived for his sister-in-law. His wife having died, and the sister-in-law had taken charge of his house and children, he failed to procure a papal dispensation for marrying her.

In 1583 he accepted an invitation from Philip II, the principal reason for traveling to Spain was that he hoped royal influence would gain favor with the Vatican for his marriage plans, but this failed. 

His son Orazio Cambiasi became a painter. More

Circle of Guido Reni (1575-1642) 
St Mary Magdalene looking upwards, with cross and putti behind
Pen and brownish black ink, over red chalk, incised for transfer, with ruled border 
13.5 x 10.5 cm. (5 1/4 x 4 1/8 in)

Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style. Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, At the age of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. He may also have trained with a painter by the name of Ferrantini. When Reni was about twenty years old, he migrated to the rising rival studio, named Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the "newly embarked", or progressives), led by Lodovico Carracci. He went on to form the nucleus of a prolific and successful school of Bolognese painters who followed Annibale Carracci to Rome. Like many other Bolognese painters, Reni's painting was thematic and eclectic in style. More

Francesco Solimena (1657-1747)
Study for Fall of the Rebel Angels d.1747
Black chalk, on thick laid paper Bears old pen and brown ink 
25.5 x 19 cm. (10 x 7 1/2 in)

The composition of the present drawing relates to several known paintings by Francesco Solimena. The recumbent figure also appears as a type that Solimena employed in a number of commissions.

The Book of Revelation describes a "war in heaven" between angels led by the archangel Michael versus those led by "Satan", who is defeated and thrown down to the earth. Revelation's "war in heaven" has been compared to the idea of fallen angels, and possible parallels have been proposed in the Hebrew Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls. More

Francesco Solimena (October 4, 1657 – April 3, 1747) was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. He was born in Canale di Serino, near Avellino.

He received early training from his father, Angelo Solimena. He settled in Naples in 1674, there he worked in the studio of Francesco di Maria and later Giacomo del Po. He apparently had taken the clerical orders, but was patronized early on, and encouraged to become an artist by Cardinal Vincenzo Orsini (later Pope Benedict XIII). By the 1680s, he had independent fresco commissions, and his active studio came to dominate Neapolitan painting from the 1690s through the first four decades of the 18th century. He was a highly conventional painter—after the Roman Baroque masters, whose technique of warm brownish shadowing Solimena emulated. Solimena painted many frescoes in Naples, altarpieces, celebrations of weddings and courtly occasions, mythological subjects, characteristically chosen for their theatrical drama, and portraits. His numerous preparatory drawings often mix media, combining pen-and-ink, chalk and watercolor washes. More

Attributed to Doménikos Theotokopoulos, called El Greco
CANDÍA, CRETE 1541 – 1614 TOLEDO
PIETÀ
Pen and brown ink and different shades of brown wash, over traces of black chalk
244 by 167 mm

The Pietà (Italian) is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ. When Christ and the Virgin are surrounded by other figures from the New Testament, the subject is strictly called a Lamentation in English, although Pietà is often used for this as well, and is the normal term in Italian. More

El Greco, born Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1541 – 7 April 1614), was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" ("The Greek") was a nickname, a reference to his Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letter.

El Greco was born in Crete, which was at that time part of the Republic of Venice, and the center of Post-Byzantine art. He became a master and at age 26 travelled to Venice.] In 1570 he moved to Romes. During his stay in Italy, El Greco enriched his style with elements of Mannerism and of the Venetian Renaissance. In 1577, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked until his death.

El Greco's dramatic and expressionistic style was met with puzzlement by his contemporaries but found appreciation in the 20th century.] He is best known for tortuously elongated figures and often fantastic or phantasmagorical pigmentation, marrying Byzantine traditions with those of Western painting. More

Francisco Rizi - MADRID 1608 - 1685 ESCORIAL
THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. ANDREW
Pen and brown ink with red-brown wash, squared for transfer in black chalk, arched top
596 by 297 mm

Andrew the Apostle, also known as Saint Andrew, was a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter.

Arms thrown wide, Saint Andrew implores the heavens above while soldiers tie him to a cross in the shape of an X. His executioner, the Roman governor Egeas, watches from a classical porch above, and confusion reigns as soldiers try to push back the surging crowd.

Francisco Rizi (1608–1685) was a Spanish painter born at Madrid. Rizi was first trained by Vincencio Carducho. He became painter to Philip IV in 1656, and held the office under Charles II, who added to it the deputy-keepership of the royal keys. A few years prior, he was appointed painter to the Cathedral of Toledo. Rizi died at El Escorial. More

Domenico Campagnola - PADUA 1484 - 1550 (?)
THE FLAGELLATION
Pen and brown ink over black chalk
220 by 378 mm

The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the Life of Christ. It is the fourth station of the modern alternate Stations of the Cross, and a Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary. The column to which Christ is normally tied, and the rope, scourge, whip or birch are elements in the Arma Christi. The Basilica di Santa Prassede in Rome, claimed to possess the original column. More

Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500 – 1564) was an Italian painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut of the Venetian Renaissance. Born in Venice, he was the pupil of his father, the leading engraver and painter Giulio Campagnola. He was presumably trained initially by his father, and may also have been a pupil of Titian. Much of his early painting may be of landscape backgrounds in Titians. In his lifetime he was a successful painter, mostly in Padua (Giulio's home town), where he was based from the early 1520s onwards. Mostly he painted on walls, including decorative schemes, but portraits and landscapes are also attributed to him. His works as a painter are not highly regarded by modern art historians though some landscapes are of high quality. More
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino
CENTO 1591 - 1666 BOLOGNA
A FEMALE NUDE LOOKING TO THE RIGHT, HALF LENGTH, RESTING HER RIGHT ARM ON A CUSHION - Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
Red chalk
247 by 220 mm

Potiphar is a person known only from the Book of Genesis's account of Joseph. Potiphar is the captain of the palace guard and is referred to without name in the Quran. Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, is taken to Egypt where he is sold to Potiphar as a household slave. Potiphar makes Joseph the head of his household, but Potiphar's wife, who is not named in the Bible or in Christian tradition, is furious at Joseph for resisting her attempts to seduce him, and falsely accuses him of attempted rape. Potiphar casts Joseph into prison, from where he later comes to the notice of Pharaoh through his ability to interpret the dreams of other prisoners. More

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666), best known as Guercino, was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from the region of Emilia, and active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner is in contrast to the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style. More

Lazzaro Baldi - PISTOIA 1624 - 1703 ROME
THE ANNUNCIATION TO JOACHIM AND ANNA
Point of the brush and black and brown wash heightened with white, with some indentations, on grey prepared paper;
a cut-out and made up pentimento for the entire figure of Joachim
304 by 219 mm

By tradition Joachim and Anne are considered to be the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. We have no historical evidence, however, of any elements of their lives, including their names. Any stories about Mary's father and mother come to us through legend and tradition. More

Lazzaro Baldi (c. 1624 – 30 March 1703) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. He was born in Pistoia and died in Rome. He moved to Rome to form part of the large studio directed by Pietro da Cortona, where Baldi became adept at fresco technique. He painted a David and Goliath for Alexander VII in the Palazzo Quirinale, as well as frescoes (1658) for the church of San Giovanni in Oleo and a San Giovanni in Patmos(1660–1665) for San Giovanni in Laterano... More