Antonio Bellucci (19 February 1654 – 29 August 1726) was an Italian soldier who became a painter of the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

period and was best known for his work in England, Germany, and Austria. He was one of the many Venetian-trained artists of his time, including

Ricci Ricci () is an Italian surname, derived from the adjective "riccio", meaning curly. Notable Riccis Arts and entertainment * Antonio Ricci (painter) (c.1565–c.1635), Spanish Baroque painter of Italian origin * Christina Ricci (born 1980), Ameri ...

Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

, Amigoni, and others, who sought commissions north of Italy, providing patrons with the then-popular Italianate grand-manner frescoes for private palaces.

Biography

Born and died in

Pieve di Soligo Pieve di Soligo is a town in the province of Treviso, near the border with the province of Belluno in Veneto, Italy. , its had 12,096 inhabitants. "Pieve" means "Parish church".

. He initially trained with Domenico Difnico in Sebenico (

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

) in

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia ( la, Dalmatia Veneta) refers to parts of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated ...

(now part of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

). By 1675, he was working in Venice, painting ''St Lorenzo Giustiniani praying for the city’s deliverance from the plague of 1447'' (c. 1691) for the church of

San Pietro di Castello San Pietro di Castello ( vec, San Piero de Casteło), formerly Olivolo ( it, Olivòlo; vec, Ołivoło), is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, forming part of the Castello sestiere. It is linked to the main islands of Venice by ...

. He painted a ''Nativity'' for the church of the Ascension at

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. Several of the landscapes of

Antonio Tempesta Antonio Tempesta, also called il Tempestino (1555 – 5 August 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art acted as a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. Much of his work depicts major battles and his ...

are enriched with figures by Bellucci. Among his pupils were

Antonio Balestra Antonio Balestra (12 August 1666 – 21 April 1740) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. Biography Born in Verona, he first apprenticed there with Giovanni Zeffio. By 1690 he moved to Venice, where he worked for three years under Ant ...

and perhaps

Jacopo Amigoni Jacopo Amigoni (ca. 1685 – September 1752), also named Giacomo Amiconi, was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque or Rococo period, who began his career in Venice, but traveled and was prolific throughout Europe, where his sumptuous portrai ...

. In 1692, he completed four altarpieces depicting various saints for the church of

Klosterneuburg Klosterneuburg (; frequently abbreviated as Kloburg by locals) is a town in Tulln District in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It has a population of about 27,500. The Klosterneuburg Monastery, which was established in 1114 and soon after gi ...

. From 1695 to 1700 and from 1702 to c. 1704, he lived in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He painted the ''Triumph of Hercules'' and other allegorical ceilings at the Palais Liechtenstein for Charles VI.

Career

From 1705 to 1716, he travelled to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

to work for Johann Wilhelm, Elector of the Palatinate, a member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

family; he worked there almost continuously until his patron’s death in 1716. For ''Schloss Bensberg'', he painted the ''Marriage of John William with Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici'' and ''Elector Palatine John William Handing the Baton of Command to his Son''. From 1716 to 1722, Bellucci worked in England, where he fulfilled several commissions for James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, including ceilings at

Cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

, the duke's country seat near London; at the neighboring

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

, Whitchurch the paintings of the ''Nativity'' and the ''Descent from the Cross'', which are seen on either side of the altar, and the ''Transfiguration'', which is above the Duke’s

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

, are attributed to him. There is an almost Romantic self-portrait of Belluci, shirt open, at the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

, Oxford. The reproduction here does not legibly show that on his breast is written the word 'pictor' (painter), perhaps indicating that to be an artist was his heart's desire. He returned to his native country late in life, and died at Soligo.

Works

* '' The King's Sick Son'' (c.1700)

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Kassel) The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister is an art gallery housed in the Schloss Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel in Germany. It is based on the collection of William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. Works from the Gallery of the Old Masters File:Rembrandt-se ...

File:Ca' Rezzonico - Ritratto di Procuratore - Antonio Bellucci.jpg, ''Portrait of Procurator'',

Ca' Rezzonico Ca' Rezzonico () is a palazzo and art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is a particularly notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture and interior decoration, and disp ...

, Venice File:Ca' Rezzonico - Ratto di Europa - Antonio Bellucci.jpg, ''The Rape of Europa'',

, Venice File:Witley baroque ceiling.jpg, ''Ascension of Jesus Christ'', Great Witley Church,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

References

Grove Encyclopedia biography on Artnet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belluci, Antonio 1654 births 1726 deaths People from Pieve di Soligo 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Italian engravers Painters from Venice Italian Baroque painters Rococo painters 18th-century Italian male artists