Carlo Magini Nature morte aux oignons coppa et lettre sur un entablement

Carlo Magini (1720–1806) 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 t ...

period and one of the most original of the 18th century Italian still life artists.Carlo Magini (1720-Fano - 1806) A Pair of Still Lives
at Lorenzilli, accessed 17 March 2016

Life

He was born on 16 September 1720 in

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by popula ...

, region of the Marche. Carlo was the son of Francis Magini, a goldsmith. His mother, Elizabeth Ceccarini, was the sister of the painter

Sebastiano Ceccarini Sebastiano Ceccarini (1703–1783), born in Fano, was an Italian Baroque painter. He was a student of Francesco Mancini and the teacher of his nephew Carlo Magini. Biography He painted in Rome during the papacy of Pope Clement XII, painting an ...

. Little is known about the details of the life of Carlo. It is possible he trained with his uncle Sebastiano. In 1736, the

Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

commissioned Sebastiano Ceccarini to paint frescos in the Chapel of the Crucifix in their church of San Filippo. Sebastiano Ceccarini asked to be allowed to bring his nephew to help. The nephew was likely Carlo Magini, who would follow his uncle during his journeys - through cities like Urbino, Perugia, Bologna, Florence and Venice between 1735 and 1738. Carlo Magini was present in Rome in 1742 and in 1743. By 1748 the artist had returned to Fano where he married Michelina Polinori of

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

on July 14 of that year. Their eldest daughter Francesca was born on 30 March 1750. He remained active in his hometown where he died in 1806.

Work

Magini mainly painted still life subjects, mainly specialising in breakfast or

bodegón The term ''bodega'' in Spanish can mean "pantry", "tavern", or "wine cellar". The derivative term ''bodegón'' is an augmentative that refers to a large ''bodega'', usually in a derogatory fashion. In Spanish art, a ''bodegón'' is a still life p ...

style pieces, depicting mainly table settings with different, apparently unrelated, elements in juxtaposition. He was also recorded, but far less recognized, as a portrait painter. His known works amounting to about 100 canvases have been attributed on the basis of a number of signed pieces. A number of works are displayed at the Quadreria della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Fano in Fano.Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Fano
It is difficult to establish a timeline for his still lifes as the works were never dated and rarely, if at all, documented.Carlo Magini, (Fano 1720 - 1806), ''Still Life with Eggs, Cabbage and Candlestick'' and ''Still Life with Cup, Bottle, Clay Pot and Candlestick''
at Galerie Canesso, accessed 17 March 2016 His compositions appear simple, but are typically very artfully composed. Magini was interested in exploring the relationships between form, color, light, shadow and textures.Carlo Magini (Fano 1720-1806), ''An oil lamp, ceramics, brass lantern, knife, onion and calf's head''
at Christie's, accessed 17 March 2016 His canvases are all composed along the same severe lines, avoiding any baroque frivolity and yet achieve a highly original and effective naturalist aesthetic. The work of Magini stands in the tradition of Caravaggio, Velázquez and his near-contemporaries the Spaniard

Luis Egidio Meléndez Luis Egidio Meléndez (1716–1780) was a Spanish painter. Though he received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Meléndez is recognized as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the 18th century. His mastery of compo ...

and the Frenchman Chardin.

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magini, Carlo 1720 births 1806 deaths 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters Italian still life painters People from Fano 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists