- Federiko Benković
Federiko Benković (1667-1753) was a prominent late
Baroque painter. He is best known as Federico Bencovich or "Federico Bencovic", but also as "Federigo" or "Federighetto" or "Dalmatino".Born from a Croatian family, he is also known as 'Federico or Federigo Bencovich'. His birthplace is unknown, either in Omiš, Šibenik, the island Brač, "Ragusa" (Dubrovnik), or possibly Venice itself.
Hi initial training was likely in Venice, but later Benković apprenticed with
Carlo Cignani inBologna , helping him in 1706 to paint an "Assumption of the the Virgin" on the dome of the Forlì cathedral. His first independent work, "Juno on the clouds", was painted in 1705. He also appears to have worked in the studio ofGiuseppe Maria Crespi .In 1710 Benković painted the altarpiece of "
St. Andrew on the cross surrounded bySt. Bartholomew , St. Carolus Borromei,St. Lucia , and St. Apollonia" for the church of "Madonna del Piombo" inBologna , later transferred to the parish church Senonches nearChartres inFrance . By 1715, he came to the service of Prince Lothar Franz Schönborn and was to complete four large canvas masterpieces for the gallery in the castle ofPommersfeldern : "Apollo and Marcia", "Hagar and Ishmael" in the desert, "Iphigenia’s sacrifice" and "Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac".The dramatic, often tortured, poses and lighting of the figures are placed within earthy tenebrist backgrounds, He uses the
Piazzetta 's andSebastiano Ricci 's unfinished and ragged brushstrokes, but superimposes a startling mystical imprint to a Venetian brilliance."Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac" [Now in the Strossmayer gallery in Croatia, after they bought the painting at a London auction in 1936.] , is probably the painting that disappeared from the castle of
Pommersfelden at the beginning of the 19th century. Until that time, the painting was attributed toPiazzetta .After his death, Benković gradually fell into oblivion. His paintings used to be attributed to
Piazzetta , Cignani, amongst others.
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