- Cecco Bravo
Cecco Bravo (
15 November 1601 – 1661) was a Florentine painter of theBaroque period. His true name is Francesco Montelatici.Biography
He trained with
Giovanni Biliverti and was also close toSigismondo Coccapani . In the early 1620s he worked in the studio ofMatteo Rosselli .By 1629, he had his own independent studio. His first recorded work is a fresco of the "Virgin, St John & Angels" (c. 1628/9;
San Marco, Florence ) and a painting of "Charity" (Annunziata of Florence). In 1633, he painted six lunettes with scenes from the "Life of the Blessed Bonaventura Bonaccorsi" for the church of Santissima Annunziata inPistoia , continuing a series begun in 1601 byBernardino Poccetti . He painted a frieze depicting children’s Games and stories fromOrlando Furioso (c. 1631) for Villa Corsini a Mezzomonte inImpruneta .He was commissioned to decorate the library in the
Casa Buonarroti of Florence. After his depiction of "Fame" on the ceiling of the library, he became disenchanted with the patron’s excessive instructions, and the panels of illustrious Florentines on the walls were completed by others, includingDomenico Puligo andMatteo Rosselli (1636) [http://www.casabuonarroti.it/english/rooms/e-studio.htm] . He was commissioned to complete work initiated byGiovanni da San Giovanni (who died after starting) for the "Sala degli Argenti" inPalazzo Pitti , in a commission shared withOttavio Vannini andFrancesco Furini . This was commissioned in 1635 byFerdinand II de' Medici prior to his marriage to the daughter of the Duke of Urbino. The frescoes were intended to celebrateLorenzo de Medici . In the south wall, Bravo completed "Lorenzo as messenger of peace".Bravo was part of a team that frescoed "quadri riportati" on the walls the "
Oratorio dei Vanchetoni ". The oratory also contains paintings by frescoes by San Giovanni,Pietro Liberi andBaldassare Franceschini (il Volterrano). A canvas by Bravo of the "Aurora", a theme also depicted earlier byGuido Reni is at thePalazzo Montecitorio .Late in life 1659, Cecco was recommended by the Cardinal Leopoldo de'Medici for a position as a court painter to Anna, wife of the archduke of Ferdinand Karl of the
Tyrol . He accepted and spent the last two years of his life inInnsbruck . One of his patrons wasFilippo Baldinucci , but he was not included in his biographies of Florentine artists.Howard Hibbard contrasted the murky sensuality of the paintings of Pignoni, Furini and Bravo with the piety of
Carlo Dolci . But in addition, Bravo is one of the few Florentines to violate the crisp drawn edges of figures, and aim for a general bravura of effort, nearly becoming a "pintore del tocco". Some attribute this to influences he encountered in Venice, for exampleBernardo Strozzi . Cecco Bravo influencedFelice Ficherelli (il Riposo).References
*"Cecco Bravo. Florence." Miles Chappell "The Burlington Magazine" (1999) p. 646-647.
*"Reviews of Exhibitions." "Renaissance Studies" 19(1): 110–114. doi:10.1111/j.1477-4658.2005.0087a.x
*"Hitherto Unknown Works by Cecco Bravo," by Gerhard Ewald. "The Burlington Magazine" (1960) p. 343-352.
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