Carlo Cignani
(1628 - 1719) |
|
Fresco Commissions, Portraiture, Mythological Subjects Art Work
| Name: |
Carlo Cignani |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Bologna |
| Nationality: |
Italian |
| Birth: |
1628 |
| Death: |
1719 |
| Website: |
|
| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
|
|
Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Fresco Commissions, Portraiture, Mythological Subjects |
| Medium: |
|
| Method: |
|
| Style: |
Realism |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painter
Draughtsman
|
|
|
Biography
| Carlo Cignani developed a new manner whichwas very admired.His smooth forms and gentle sentiment gained Cignani a position in Bologna similar to that of Maratta in Rome. Cignani's devotion to his art, his aristocratic lineage, and his slow, deliberate methods made him the perfect example of the artist,gentleman that became the ideal during much of the eighteenth century. He is now as obscure as he once was famous. A pupil of G. B. Cairo, Cignani then studied with Albani around 1646 to 1650. Reni and Guercino also influenced him, and he was notably enthusiastic about Correggio. From these sources Cignani made a decided shift away from the forceful drama of the earlier century to a more reflective nuanced imagery. Adopting figure types and groupings from the leader of French classicism, Simon Vouet, Cignani painted some of the most celebrated pictures of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. After a trip to Leghorn between 1655 and 1658, he executed his first major commission for the Palazzo Publico in Bologna under Farnese patronage 1658-1660. This cycle, including Francis J Healing the Scrofulous, demonstrates Cignani's clarity of form, interest in detail, and ceremonious effect. His realism and his spontaneous details indicate his independence from his teachers. Having been in Rome as part of the Cardinal's entourage from 1662 until 1665, Cignani's Roman contacts remained an important source of patronage, especially for his mythological pictures and other easel pictures. Between 1678 and 1680, Cignani was busy adding fresco decorations to the Palazzo del Giardino at Parma, completing work left undone by Agostino Canacci. Demonstrating his full maturity, these graceful mythologies struck a brilliant balance between careful deliberation and spontaneity, between lightness and seriousness, and justifiably earned Cignani credit for creating the finest examples of Bolognese classicism of the second half of the century. Widely admired, his work entered most of the major princely collections throughout Europe. His overdoor decorations for the Benedictine Church of San Michele in Bosco near Bologna, for example, were especially praised. The four groups of putti were seen as models of delicacy in the handling of the flesh. Cignani settled in Forli in 1685, where his studio became a training ground for many outstanding young painters including Crespi, Sagrestini, Benkovich, Legnani, and Francesco Mancini. Many of his major commissions, such as his large altarpice for the Theatinerkirche, Munich, were assisted by his cousin Luigi Quaini and his chief pupil, Marcantonio Franceschini. In his later years Cignani was highly esteemed, receiving many honors including the title of principe perpetuo of the Academia Clementina in 1706 Duke Ranuccio Farnese designated him Cavaliere. His last years were spent in illness and increasing spirituality. Upon his death in 1719 he was honored with a magnificent funeral, in both Forli and Bologna. |
Samples of Work
|
|
