Domenico Piola
(1627 - 1703) |
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Monumental Decorative Arts, Secular Narratives Art Work
| Name: |
Domenico Piola |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Genoa |
| Nationality: |
Genoese |
| Birth: |
1627 |
| Death: |
1703 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Monumental Decorative Arts, Secular Narratives |
| Medium: |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
Baroque |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
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Biography
| The leading painter of monumental decorative cycles in Genoa during the second half of the century, Domenico Piola is considered one of the founders of the Genoese school of decorative painters. The son of the painter Paolo Battista, Domenico was trained in Florence by his older brother, Pellegro Piola. He also studied with G. D. Capellino and S. Camoglia (who taught him the gouache technique, which he adopted for his frescoes) and worked for a time with Valerio Castello, who profoundly influenced his style. Correggio, Castiglione and Cigoli also inspired him. Active principally in Liguria, Piola was extremely prolific. Among his early efforts are the Beheading of St. James (dated 1647) done for the Oratory of S. Giacomo della Marina in Genoa (which also had paintings by Valerio Castello). In 1650 he painted the St. Dominic in San Giovanni Battista, Savona. Frescoes from the period include those for the church of S. Martha, Genoa. Toward the end of 1684 he traveled with his sons Anton Maria and Paolo Gerolamo to Northern Italy, particularly Milan, Bologna, and Piacenza, where in 1685 he painted the Galleria of the Duke Baldini and the choir of S. Maria in Toricella. In Asti he frescoed the presbytery of the Duomo. Back in Genoa by late 1685, he resumed his fresco decorations for the church of San Leonardo. His later style responded strongly to Pietro da Cortona's grand manner. Combined with his Genoese sources, it produced an especially rich, luminous, and ebullient decorative style. In 1688 he was paid for frescoes in the salons of the Palazzo Brignole, Genoa; his most complex and complete surviving fresco cycle was done for the church of San Luca in Genoa begun in 1695 and completed with assistance from his son, Paolo Gerolamo. Piola was still active in 1700, joining the competition for the commission to decorate the Sala del Maggioro Consiglio in the Palazzo Reale. Besides making numerous drawings, Piola was an etcher, and his oil sketches are particularly vibrant His sons Anton Maria, Paolo Gerolamo, Giovanni Battista, and his daughter, Margherita, were his pupils. His son-in-law, Gregorio de' Ferrari, was his friendly rival and may have inspired Domenico to look at Correggio's work. |
Samples of Work
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