Andrea Pozzo
(1642 - 1709) |
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Secular Narratives, Historic Narratives, Mythological Narratives, Quadratura Art Work
| Name: |
Andrea Pozzo |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Trent |
| Nationality: |
Italian |
| Birth: |
1642 |
| Death: |
1709 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Secular Narratives, Historic Narratives, Mythological Narratives, Quadratura |
| Medium: |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
Baroque |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
Architecture
Stage Design |
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Biography
| The last and certainly the greatest virtuoso of perspective (quadratura) painting of the century, Pozzo achieved immortality through his ceiling fresco, the Apotheosis of St. Ignatius (dated 1691-94, Rome, S. Ignazio). Here illusionistic architecture rushes heavenward to a sky which seems to reach to infinity. Exceeding the spatial illusionism of Pietro da Cortona and Giovanni Battista Gaulli, the work had no true successor but many imitators in eighteenth-century Austria and Germany. Trained first by the Jesuits in Trent, Pozzo later studied with Andrea Sacchi,* whom he accompanied to Milan. There Pozzo became independent. He joined the lay brotherhood of Jesuits in 1665 and was called "Padre," though he was never ordained a priest. The connection earned him the sobriquet "Fratel Pozzo." He decorated numerous Jesuit churches with altarpieces and murals employing sophisticated manipulations of perspective. A fine example is the decoration for the Jesuit Church at Mondovi done between 1676 and 1677. Summoned to Rome in 1681, Pozzo began working on the frescoes for S. Ignazio in 1685, of which the ceiling of the nave, the most famous part, was done between 1691 and 1694. A spectacular example of architectural (quadratura), Pozzo's ceiling takes the perspective systems of the Renaissance and adapts them for use on a vast scale. Pozzo's Perspectiva pictorium, published in the 1690s, was translated into many languages and earned him an international following. By 1703 Pozzo had completed his service for the Jesuits and moved to Austria, where he lived out his remaining years. His production there was primarily secular, the Triumph of Hercules in the Salon of the Liechtenstein Palace being the most famous. |
Samples of Work
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