Antonio Cifrondi (June 11, 1655 – October 30, 1730) was an Italian painter of the late
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...
, mainly of
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...
themes. He was active in
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label=Eastern Lombard, Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes ...
and near
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Co ...
.
He was born to a poor mason in
Clusone
Clusone (Bergamasque: ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. Located in the Val Seriana, it received the honorary title of city on 15 May 1957 with a presidential decree which ratified a Napoleon's promis ...
. After some local training. Cifrondi moved to
Bologna with
Marcantonio Franceschini
Marcantonio Franceschini (; 1648 – 24 December 1729) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mostly in his native Bologna. He was the father and teacher of Giacomo Franceschini.''The picture collector's manual'' by James R. Hob ...
, a member of the
Cignani circle. He traveled to Turin with his younger brother Ventura, but was not successful in finding work. He stayed in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
during 1675–1680. He briefly worked in the
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
under
Le Brun, but was dismissed before the age of 30.
[(Scotti, G. page, 168)] He lived in the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, found ...
convent of San Faustino in the last decade of his life. He may have met the fellow northern Italian genre painter
Giuseppe Maria Crespi
Giuseppe Maria Crespi (March 14, 1665 – July 16, 1747), nicknamed Lo Spagnuolo ("The Spaniard"), was an Italian late Baroque painter of the Bolognese School. His eclectic output includes religious paintings and portraits, but he is now most ...
. He influenced
Giuseppe Roncelli.
He is known by canvases mainly during 1722–1730. He often painted aged men or people at work.
In 1897, a historian of Bergamo described him as one of the adventurers who ''vaguely foreseeing the advent of a new era ... gave a sign of a nervous agitation and a restlessness, and felt need to get out of the narrow circle of village life, traveling and observing a little of everything, somewhat eager for fresh air and brighter light''. He describes him as always poor but full of cheer.
Gallery
File:Antonio Cifrondi Santo obispo M Arte Tempo Clusone.jpg, Saint and Bishop
File:Artgate Fondazione Cariplo - Cifrondi_Antonio,_Euclide.jpg, Euclid
ACifrondi Elia sul carro di fuoco.JPG, Elijah and chariot of fire
Sources
*
*
Other projects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cifrondi, Antonio
1655 births
1730 deaths
People from Clusone
Painters from Brescia
Painters from Bergamo
Italian Baroque painters
17th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
18th-century Italian painters
Italian genre painters
18th-century Italian male artists