Nebojsa Valentin
(1591 - 1601) |
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Genre Narratives, Secular Narratives Art Work
| Name: |
Nebojsa Valentin |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Coulommiers, France |
| Nationality: |
French |
| Birth: |
1591 |
| Death: |
1601 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Genre Narratives, Secular Narratives |
| Medium: |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
French Caravaggist |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
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Biography
| The leading French Caravaggist active in Rome, Valentin (nicknamed "Moise") had a brief but successful career. He died at age forty-one at the peak of his popularity, when collectors were competing to acquire his tavern scenes and musical groups. Having since fallen into obscurity, Valentin's work has aroused renewed interest in the last several decades. The son of an artisan, Valentin (according to Sandrartj preceded Vouet into Rome (i.e., before 1614) and remained there for the rest of his life. Valentin may have studied with Vouet and learned something from the Bentveughels, after which he fell under the sway of Caravaggio, principally through the influence of Bartolommeo Manfredi. In 1620 we know that Valentin was living with Douffet, and from 1624 he was associated with the Bentveughels. Valentin adopted the low-life subjects introduced by Caravaggio and continued to produce them throughout his career. An early example is the Fortune Teller with Drinkers (Toledo, OH, Toledo Museum of Art), which is thought to date from 1620 and which he treated again in three other extant versions (Copenhagen; Paris; Pommersfelden on deposit in Toronto). Here Valentin already has injected the melancholy spirit and solemnity which pervades all of his known works and which critics ascribe to his French origins. Valentin enjoyed great success with prominent patrons. Cardinal Francesco Barberini commissioned a David (Lugano, Thyssen Collection) around 1627, and in 1628 he ordered an Allegory of Rome from Valentin (now in the Villa Lante, Rome). Cardinal Barberini was again involved in Valentin's selection to paint the pendant to Poussin's altarpiece in St. Peter's. Valentin's Martyrdom of Sts. Processus and Martinian (dated 1630, Rome, Pinacoteca Vaticana) was favored by many over Poussin's work for its strong color and vivid realism. That same year Cardinal Barberini ordered a Samson (Cleveland Museum of Art) as a pendant to his David, which Valentin completed in 1631. Valentin's other patrons included Cassiano dal Pozzo (whose portrait by Valentin was owned by Queen Christina of Sweden) and other members of the Barberini circle. It has been argued that Valentin's popularity with the Barberini lessened his dependence on Caravaggism, but it is essentially true that although Valentin's subject matter soon expanded to include allegories, portraits, biblical subjects, and other grand manner subjects, he used the same models and the same Caravaggist approach regardless of his subject. Valentin's work earned him many supporters from international circles, including Louis XIV, who reportedly admired his Judith with Head of Holofemes (Toulouse, Mus6e des Augustins), and Cardinal Mazarin. Baglione tells us that Valentin led a dissolute life and died of a fever induced by swimming in the cold waters of the Fonte Babuino during a night of carousing. His funeral was well attended, and Valentin was awarded the designation pictorum gloria. |
Samples of Work
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