Alessandro Tiarini
(1577 - 1668) |
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Secular Narratives, Mythological Nattarives Art Work
| Name: |
Alessandro Tiarini |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Bologna, Italy |
| Nationality: |
Italian |
| Birth: |
1577 |
| Death: |
1668 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Secular Narratives, Mythological Nattarives |
| Medium: |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
Baroque |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
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Biography
| Greatly admired for the dramatically heroic pictures he produced from 1615 to 1630, Tiarini is unusual among Emilian painters for the diversity of his artistic sources, which included Lombard and Florentine artists as well as the more traditional Venetian ones. Though he was not a pupil in ihe Carracci Academy, Tiarini responded to Ludovico Carracci's paintings, fusing all of his sources into first-rate images. Unfortunately, his creativity seems to have exhausted itself early because his later output is somewhat dry and mechanical. Through the efforts of his godmother, Lavinia Fontana, Tiarini joined Prospero Fontana's studio, where he studied until Fontana's death in 1597. Frustrated in his attempt to join the Carracci Academy, Tiarini then briefly studied with Bartolomeo Cesi (1597-98). Some sources mention his involvement with the Baldi Academy where Tiarini encountered Albani and Guido Reni, who became his lifelong friends. A brawl forced Tiarini's exit from Bologna, and from 1599 to 1606 we find him active in Florence, first associated with Passignano. Tiarinfs chief effort in Florence involves his participation with Pocetti and Jacopo da Empoli on the frescoes for the St. Anthony cloister of S. Marco in 1602. Smaller Tuscan towns also employed him. Ludovico Carracci evidently persuaded Tiarini to return to Bologna in 1606 and Tiarini embarked on a successful and far-flung career. Tiarini's first known effort after his return is the remarkable Martyrdom of St. Barbara in San Petronio, which shows the lessons he learned from Andrea del Sarto, Michelangelo, and such contemporary Florentines as Passignano, Cristofano Allori, and Matteo Rosselli; their idealized and earnest realism informs this early work. Tiarini remained active as a fresco decorator and painter of large al tarpieces. Noteworthy examples include his 5/. Felix of Cantalice of 1612 in the Oratory of the Sacraments in Mirandola and the monumental composition of the Resurrection of the Child produced between 1612 and 1613 for the St. Dominic chapel of S. Domenico in Bologna. The acknowledged masterpieces from his career are the Death of the Virgin and the Lamentation (dated 1617), both in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna. Looking not only to Caravaggio* but also to Ludovico and Guercino* for inspiration, these masterpieces reveal a mastery of anatomical draughtsmanship that is equally Bolognese and Florentine in conception, a sensitivity to lighting and composition that is both sober and dramatic, and a feeling for the human figure that is both sensual and sometimes nearly mannerist in conception. In 1618 Tiarini produced a Beheading of John the Baptist (now in Milan); in the following year he received the commission for the fresco decoration of the Brami chapel of Madonna della Ghiara in Reggio Emilia. Payments for the Ghiara project continued until 1629 and included the sanctuary as well. Old and New Testament scenes were incorporated into the vast decoration. Among the most beautiful is the Coronation of the Virgin, which again shows Tiarini adapting figures and poses from sixteenth-century Tuscans, including Raphael and Andrea del Sarto, as well as turning to Correggio, Albani, and Domenichino* for inspiration. Clearly defined, deliberate in pose and gestures, his figures and compositions are satisfyingly explicit, if somewhat overblown. Other projects in Reggio Emilia included altarpieces for the church of San Giovanni Evangelista: The Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist; and St. John's Assumption into Heaven. Tiarini remained popular among patrons in Mantua, Faenza, and Cremona, as well as Bologna. In 1627 Tiarini worked for nearly a month with Luca Ferrari* in Modena, and in that year he was also active in Piacenza. 1628 found him working in the Palazzo del Giardino in Parma. Tiarini's style changed after 1630, becoming more diffuse in the lighting and more painterly. Scholars criticize some of the production as flaccid and unoriginal, though such works as the Ecstasy of St. Catherine (Bologna Pinacoteca Nazionale) or the Presentation of the Virgin (Bologna, S. Maria dei Servi) are acknowledged masterpieces. Tiarini's last dated work is the Guardian Angel of 1653, which came from the Oratory of the Affarosi family in Monte Cauolo near Reggio. Several portraits have been attributed to him. These show Tiarini working in the tradition of Sustermans* and Dolci, but in his own more powerful manner. A notable example is his Portrait of a Woman with a Dog (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale). |
Samples of Work
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