Bernardino Castelli (15 June 1750,

Arsiè Arsiè is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,748 and an area of .All demogra ...

- 24 February 1810,

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 ...

) was an Italian painter of portraits and religious figures.

Biography

He displayed artistic talent at an early age, taking his first lessons in

Feltre Feltre ( vec, Fèltre) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about from its junction with the Piave, and southwes ...

from a local artist named Giovanni D'Antonio and helping to decorate the Villa Franzoia in Quero. His work there impressed the Canon, Alvise Franzoia, who took him to

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

and presented him to Bishop who offered to take him under his protection and helped him to continue his studies.Brief biography
@ the

Enciclopedia Treccani The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' (Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language en ...

. His first major work was a portrait of the Bishop, which brought requests for more portraits by other prelates in the area and launched him on a career as a portrait painter. He also did a painting of Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani for the chapel of the Treviso Seminary, a

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

for the parish of Rasai in

Seren del Grappa Seren del Grappa is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,586 and an area of .Al ...

and a

Saint Spyridon Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous also sometimes written Saint Spiridon (Greek: ; c. 270 – 348) is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. Life Spyridon was born in Askeia, in Cyprus. He worked as a shepher ...

for the parish of Coste in

Maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, Ja ...

. In 1772, he was commissioned by the Dominicans at the church of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

to do several portraits, restore others, and create a gallery in the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

, which was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1944. Three years later, at the invitation of Bishop Giustiniani and his brother, Castelli moved to

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, where he became a private portrait painter. In 1782, after establishing his reputation, he went to Venice and joined the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. His sitters there included the Doges

Paolo Renier Paolo Renier (21 November 1710 – 13 February 1789) was a Venetian statesman, the 119th and penultimate Doge of Venice. He was a noted orator, and served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and to Austria. His election as Doge was unpopular, ...

and Ludovico Manin as well as Popes Pius VI and

Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

. Ten years later, he relocated to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and became a member of the "Accademia Clementina" (now the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna ("academy of fine arts of Bologna") is a public tertiary academy of fine art in Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. It has a campus in Cesena. Giorgio Morandi taught engraving at the Accademia f ...

). He also worked briefly in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

. Later, he turned down an invitation by

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...

to come to Rome, and returned to Venice. Despite his fame as a portraitist, he never abandoned religious themes and was known as the "painter of beautiful Madonnas". One of his last works was a depiction of Susanna and the Elders, painted as part of a competition organized by

Girolamo Manfrin Girolamo Manfrin (1742 – 1801) was an entrepreneur active in Venice in the 18th century. He was born in Zara (today Zadar, Croatia) in the Republic of Venice. His origins are unclear. His family wasn't noble, nor does it appear among the citizen ...

, a tobacco merchant who was also a patron of the arts. A canvas of Saint Gerolamo collecting money for orphans was left unfinished and completed by Liberale Cozza.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castelli, Bernardino 1750 births 1810 deaths 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters Painters from Venice Portrait painters Academic staff of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists