Lodovico Cardi da Castelvecchio di Cigoli
(1559 - 1613) |
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Secular Narratives, altarpieces Art Work
| Name: |
Lodovico Cardi da Castelvecchio di Cigoli |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Castelvecchio |
| Nationality: |
Italian |
| Birth: |
1559 |
| Death: |
1613 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Secular Narratives, altarpieces |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painter
Draughtsman
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Biography
| Considered the founder of the Florentine baroque school, Cigoli enjoyed such prominence in his own day that the Florentine Ambassador was there to greet him upon his arrival in Rome in 1604. A polymath, Cigoli was interested in architecture, engineering, poetry, and music. He played the lute exceedingly well, some say to the detriment of his painting. He wrote theoretical treatises and was an amateur scientist. Galileo was a lifelong friend; they shared an extensive correspondence and Cigoli worked with Galileo on the development of the telescope. Cigoli is buried next to Galileo in the church of S. Felicita in Florence. Cigoli's Florentine career began in 1572 when he arrived at age thirteen to spend four years in A. Allori's studio. A poisoning episode apparently forced his return to Castelvecchio. Three years later Buontalenti recalled him to Florence, became his teacher in architecture, and introduced him to Santi di Tito, who became his painting master. Under Santi's influence, the tradition of the late Florentine mannerists shaped Cigoli's earliest style. In 1578 Cigoli entered the Accademia del Disegno. Later he responded to the works of Barocci, Correggio, and the Venetians. The paintings of the earlier Florentine Renaissance, which are distinguished for their calm, harmonious conventions and their clear, decorative colors, remained a lifelong inspiration. His chronology is fairly well established through documents and dated works. In 1581 he painted his first major commission: the depiction of Christ in the Netherworld for the Chiostro Grande of S. Maria Novella. In 1584 he painted a second fresco for the same location, the subject being an episode from the life of St. Vincent Ferrer. In 1591 he painted a Resurrection signed and dated 1591, Arezzo, Pinacoteca which clearly reflects his interest in Santi di Tito and Vasari. Cigoli's Raising of Lazarus (documented 1592, Montopoli, church of S. Marta shows his response to A Allori. In the 1590s Cigoli's style matured, moving toward far larger and more grandiose compositions and employing dynamic and dramatic compositional devices, which he learned from Barocci and Correggio. From 1592 to 1597 he worked on the Deposition Florence, Palazzo Pitti for Empoli, which also reflects his intensive study of Andrea del Sarto. The year 1597 was particularly important for Cigoli's work. He completed his Miracle of St Anthony for Cortona, S. Francesco. One of his most famous masterpieces, the Martyrdom of St. Stephen Florence, Palazzo Pitti, also dates from 1597. Its swaying movement and dynamic composition demonstrate Cigoli's development toward a baroque idiom; not surprisingly, it was greatly admired by Pietro da Cortona. Much of Cigoli's oeuvre, however remains within the balanced, restrained, and harmonious compositions that the Florentine painters of the later Renaissance had perfected. In 1604 the Medici attached to the Roman court encouraged Cigoli to come to Rome ano he entered the Accademia di S. Luca in that year. He arrived anticipating a successful entry in the competition for the facade of St. Peter*s. He lost the commission to Maderno, but he remained in Rome where he received a number of important commissions, many of which are poorly preserved. His first Roman stay lasted with interruptions from April to July 1604 he returned to Florence and Pisa for the rest of that year. He alternated his time between Florence and Rome, working in Rome from 1606 to 1608, returning to Florence once again in 1608 to design the decorations for the marriage of Ferdinand II and Maria Magdalena. He was back in Rome from the end of 1608 to the time of his death in 1613. Before his departure for Rome Cigoli had completed the Entry into Jerusalem, commissioned by the Serristori for S. Croce. His hasty departure for Rome apparently necessitated that Biliverti finish his Flight into Egypt in the same church. In Rome he had begun the now damaged . Peter Healing the Cripple known through an engraving by Callot for St. Peter's, a project that was interrupted by his return to Florence in the fall of 1604. Between 1604 and 1606 he was engaged in the now famous competition with Caravaggio and Passignano, sponsored by Monsignor Massimi, in which the three artists were commissioned to paint an Ecce Homo without knowing of the others' involvement. Cigoli won the competition and the painting is now in the Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence. He completed his work on St. Peter Healing the Cripple by 1606, and this was considered the most successful of the six commissions for large altarpieces for St. Peter's. His surviving oeuvre alternates between a dignified, restrained classicism such as the Martyrdom of St. Lucia Rorence, Santa Trinita and images expressing intense, mystical piety such as his St. Francis in Prayer Florence, Palazzo Pitti. These are among the earliest examples of their kind in Florentine painting. Both directions in his work affected later artists. His presence in Rome no doubt reinforced the classicizing tendencies of painters such as Domenichino. Between 1610 and 1612 Cigoli painted frescoes in the cupola of the Capella Paolina in S. Maria Maggiore, consisting of an Immaculate Conception and groups of saints. |
Samples of Work
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