Antoniazzo Romano, born Antonio di Benedetto Aquilo degli Aquili (c. 1430 – c. 1510) was an Italian

Early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...

painter, the leading figure of the Roman school during the latter part of the 15th century. He "made a speciality of repainting or interpreting older images, or generating new cult images with an archaic flavor",Nagel, Alexander, and Wood, Christopher S., ''Anachronic Renaissance'', pp 323-324, 2020, Zone Books, MIT Press,
google books
/ref> in particular by very often using the gold ground style, which was unusual by this period.

Biography

Antoniazzo was born in the

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politic ...

rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

'' of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was influenced at first by the decorative manner of

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

and

Beato Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his ''Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent". Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

, as well as by the local painters of Lazio. His first recorded work is from 1461, a replica (untraced) of the miraculous ''Virgin and Child of St. Luke'' in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore of Rome, for the seignior of Pesaro, Alessandro Sforza. From 1464 he worked for the papal court, producing at first a triptych of the ''Virgin and Child with Saints'' in Rieti. In 1467 he completed the decoration of the funerary chapel of

Cardinal Bessarion Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letters ...

in the church of Santi Apostoli, located not far from the house where he was born. In the centre of the decoration was an icon of the Virgin, now in the Chapel of St Anthony, a copy of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

in the

Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin or ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa. History According to Byzantine historian Andrew Ekonom ...

, the church of the Greeks in Rome. This icon in the Santi Apostoli is one of the most remarkable examples of Antoniazzo's considerable production of Virgins, generally taken from Byzantine models: he was indeed a much sought-after copier of icons. Later he worked to a series of frescoes in the Monastery of Tor de' Specchi in Rome, featuring stories of the life of S. Francesca Romana, and to the decoration of the public rooms of the

Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia or Palazzo Barbo (), formerly Palace of St. Mark, is a palazzo (palace) in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval hous ...

Antoniazzo Romano - Virgin and Child with Donor - Google Art Project

In the 1470s Antoniazzo worked to the decoration of the

Vatican Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the V ...

with artists like

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ea ...

Melozzo da Forlì Melozzo da Forlì (c. 1438 – 8 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. His fresco paintings are notable for the use of foreshortening. He was the most important member of the Forlì painting school. Biography ...

and

Ghirlandaio Ghirlandaio is the surname of a family of Renaissance Italian painters: * Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–1494), painter of fresco cycles and Michelangelo's teacher * Davide Ghirlandaio (1452–1525), younger brother of Domenico * Benedetto Ghirlandai ...

. Through their influence his figures acquired gentler expressions and their garments were ornamented with decorative patterns, though always retaining several Medieval features. In Santa Maria sopra Minerva he painted for that church a famous '' Annunciation'' (1500). The painting shows the Dominican Cardinal Juan de Torquemada (d. 1468) presenting poor girls dowered by the guild of the Annunciation. The Cardinal Torquemada founded this guild, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the years between 1475 and 1480 Antoniazzo's production of altarpieces and panels with images of the Virgin increased as a result of the encouragement of the cult of the Virgin by Pope Sixtus IV. His later works show an increasing mannerism in their features, which were later imitated by several painters, whose works had been often attributed to the master. Antoniazzo was one of the three founders of the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fi ...

, the guild of painters and illuminators in Rome, and signed the statutes in 1478. A portion of his ''Madonna and Child with Donor'' from the Houston, Texas Museum of Fine Arts was chosen as the art masterpiece

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

stamp for 1991.

Major works

*'' Histories of St. Francesca Romana'' (1468) Fresco, Tor de' Specchi Monastery, Rome *'' Virgin and Child Enthroned'' (c. 1470) - Fresco, Santa Maria della Consolazione,

*'' Virgin and Child with the Saints Peter and Paul'' (c. 1474) San Pietro,

Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

*'' Annunciation'' (1485) - Wood, Santa Maria sopra Minerva,

*'' Madonna Enthroned with the Infant Christ and Saint'' (1487) - Oil on panel, 166 x 165 cm,

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica or National Gallery of Ancient Art is an art museum in Rome, Italy. It is the principal national collection of older paintings in Rome – mostly from before 1800; it does not hold any antiquities. It has two ...

*'' Nativity with Saints Lawrence and Andrew'' (1480–1485) - Tempera on panel, 142 x 176 cm,

Notes

Sources

*Claudio Rendina, ''Enciclopedia di Roma'', Newton Compton, Rome. * Roberto Longhi, In favore di Antoniazzo Romano, «Vita artistica. Studi di Storia dell’arte», 1927, 2, 11–12, p. 250, reprinted in Edizione delle opere complete di Roberto Longhi, vol. II. Saggi e ricerche 1925–28, Firenze, 1967, I, pp. 245– 256 * Anna Cavallaro, Antoniazzo Romano e gli antoniazzeschi. Una generazione di pittori nella Roma del Quattrocento, Udine, Ed. Campanotto, 1992 * Gerardo de Simone, Melozzo e Roma, saggio in Melozzo da Forlì. L’umana bellezza tra Piero della Francesca e Raffaello, a cura di D. Benati, M. Natale, A. Paolucci, catalogo della mostra (Forlì, Musei S. Domenico, 2011), Silvana Editoriale, 2011, pp. 37–51, e schede pp. 192–199 e 222-223 * Gerardo de Simone, The Use of Trecento Sources in Antoniazzo Romano and Lorenzo da Viterbo, in "Predella", 35, 2014 015 ed. by Louise Bourdua, on line (http://www.predella.it/index.php/component/content/article/51-issue-35/290-35-monograph-5-de-simone.html) e a stampa (Predella Monografie, n. 9, 2014, ETS Edizioni, Pisa) * Antoniazzo Romano. Pictor Urbis. 1435/1440-1508, catalogo della mostra a cura di Anna Cavallaro e Stefano Petrocchi (Roma, Galleria nazionale di Palazzo Barberini, 2013–2014), Cinisello Balsamo (Milano) 2013

External links

''Italian Paintings: Sienese and Central Italian Schools''
a collection catalog containing information about Romano and his works (see index; plates 61–63). {{DEFAULTSORT:Romano, Antoniazzo 1430s births 1510s deaths 15th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 16th-century Italian painters Italian Renaissance painters Painters from Rome Catholic decorative artists Catholic painters