- Bernardo Strozzi
Bernardo Strozzi (c. 1581 –
August 2 ,1644 ) was a prominent and prolific ItalianBaroque painter born and active mainly inGenoa , and also active inVenice .Biography
Strozzi was born in
Genoa . He was probably not related to the otherStrozzi family.In 1598, at the age of 17, he joined a Capuchin
monastery , a reform branch of the Franciscan order. When his father died c1608, he left the order to care for his mother, earning their living with his paintings, which were often influenced by Franciscan teachings, for example his "Adoration of the Shepherds" (c. 1615) [ [http://thewalters.org/collections_art/itemdetails.aspx?aid=196 "Adoration of Shepherds"] at the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore] . In 1625, he was charged with illegally practicing as a painter. When his mother died c1630, Bernardo was pressured in court by the Capuchin's to re-enter the order. He was briefly imprisoned in Genoa [cite journal|first=Stephane|last=Loire|title=Bernardo Strozzi|year=1995|journal=Burlington Magazine|pages= pp.477–479] , and upon release fled toVenice to avoid confinement in a monastery in 1631. He became nicknamed all his life as "il prete Genovese" (the Genoa priest).Early paintings, such as "The Ecstasy of St Francis" [ [http://www.philbrook.org/exhibitions/galleries/page.cfm?page=22 "Ecstasy of St Francis"] at Philbrook Museum"] show the dark emotionalism ofCaravaggio . But by the second decade of the 17th century, while working inVenice , Strozzi had synthesized a personal style which fused painterly influences of the North (includingRubens and Veronese) with a monumental realistic starkness. For example, in the painting "The Incredulity of Thomas", the background is muted, yet Jesus' face, haloed and his outline, misty, in a style atypical ofCaravaggio [ [http://www.comptonverney.co.uk/?page=collections/naples/strozziIncredulity.html "Incredulity of Saint Thomas"] at Compton Verney Museum] . Never as dark as the "Caravaggisti", Venice infused his painting with a gentler edge, a style more acceptable to the local patronage, and one derived from his precursors in Venice,Jan Lys (died 1629) andDomenico Fetti (died 1626), who had also fused the influence of Caravaggio into Venetian art. Examples of this style can be found in his "Parable of the Wedding Guests" (1630) [ [http://www.theitalians.com.au/theitalians/Detail.cfm?IRN=161171&ViewID=2 "Parable of the Wedding Guests"] at the National Gallery, Australia] ,"Christ giving keys of Heaven to Saint Peter" (1630), [ [http://chazen.wisc.edu/collection/paintings/euro_pt2.htm# "Christ giving Keys of Heaven"] at University Wisconsin Gallery] , "Saint Lawrence distributing Alms" atSan Nicolò da Tolentino [ [http://www.wga.hu/html/s/strozzi/2/lawrence.html "St Lawrence distributing Alms"] ] and a "Personification of Fame" (1635-6) [ [http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG6321 "Personification of Fame"] at National Gallery, London] . He was also likely influenced by Velazquez (who visited Genoa in 1629-30).After a commission to paint
Claudio Monteverdi his fame grew, and his portrait paintings included many of the leading Venetians. His pupils and painter strongly influenced by him includedGiovanni Andrea de Ferrari (1598-1669),Giovanni Bernardo Carbone ,Valerio Castello and,Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione .Partial anthology
*Note: unfortunately, the painting of the "Viola Player" is not highly representative of Strozzi's mature style.
*Artcyclopedia [http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/strozzi_bernardo.html]
*Scholar's resource [http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.scholarsresource.com/images/thumbnails/192/d/dva4906.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.scholarsresource.com/browse/artist/1271&h=143&w=192&sz=7&hl=en&start=39&tbnid=O2nnGGHBds3IfM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBernardo%2BStrozzi%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLR,GGLR:2006-39,GGLR:en%26sa%3DN]References
ources
*Gavazza, E. et al., eds.,"Bernardo Strozzi, Genova 1581/82-Venezia 1644" (exhibition catalogue, Palazzo Ducale, Genoa), Milan, 1995
*Spicer, J., ed., "Bernardo Strozzi: Master Painter of the Italian Baroque" (exhibition catalogue, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore), Baltimore 1995
*Pallucchini, A., "La pittura veneziana del Seicento", Milan 1993
*Krawietz, C., "Bernardo Strozzi," in "The Dictionary of Art" (ed. by Jan Shoaf Turner), London, 1996
*Hansen, M.S. and J.Spicer, eds., "Masterpieces of Italian Painting, The Walters Art Museum", London 2005, no. 43
* [http://www.wga.hu/bio/s/strozzi/biograph.html WGA entry]
*cite book | first= Rudolf|last= Wittkower| year=1993| title= Pelican History of Art, Art and Architecture Italy, 1600-1750| chapter= 14 | editor= | others=1980 | pages= p 351-2 | publisher= Penguin Books Ltd| id= | url= | authorlink=
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