Carlo Ridolfi (1594–1658) was an Italian art biographer and painter of the

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.

Biography

Ridolfi was born in

Lonigo Lonigo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16,400 inhabitants.Source: ISTAT - Bilancio demografico al 31/12/200 In its ''frazione'' of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani, a Renaissance ...

near

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

. He was a pupil of the painter

Antonio Vassilacchi Antonio Vassilacchi (; el, Αντώνιος Βασιλάκης, Antonios Vasilakis; 1556–1629), also called L'Aliense, was a Greek painter, who was active mostly in Venice and the Veneto. Biography Antonio Vassilacchi was born of Greek descent ...

(Aliense). He painted a ''Visitation'' for the Ognissanti and an ''Adoration of the Magi'' for

San Giovanni Elemosinario San Giovanni Elemosinario is a church of Venice, northern Italy, dedicated to John the Merciful, Saint John the Almsgiver. This church was founded in 1071, and was completely destroyed by the disastrous Rialto fire in 1514. The church was rebui ...

in Venice. He copied Tintoretto's ''Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet'' in San Marcuola, before it came to the collection of

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

. Ridolfi's copy still remains in San Marcuola. He was certainly best known, in his own day and ever since, as an author on art. Carlo Ridolfi was also an important collector of drawings, such as

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

. Many of these drawings are conserved in the ''Christ Church Library'' (

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Ridolfi wrote a biography of the Venetian painters in 1648 titled ''Le maraviglie dell'Arte ovvero, Le vite degli Illustri Pittori Veneti e dello Stato''. He also wrote ''La vita di Giacopo Robusti'' (a biography of

Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed with ...

) in 1642. He was awarded the knighthood of the Golden Cross by Pope

Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...

and a chain of gold and a medal of St. Mark by the Republic of Venice, essentially for his books rather than his painting. Subsequent Venetian chroniclers who have quoted Ridolfi include

Marco Boschini Marco Boschini (1602–1681) was an Italian painter and engraver of the early Baroque period in Venice. He was born in Venice, and was educated in the school of Palma il Giovane. He painted ''The Last Supper'' for the sacristy of at Venice. He ...

Antonio Maria Zanetti Count Anton oMaria Zanetti (1689–1767) was a Venetian artist, engraver, art critic, art dealer and connoisseur. He formed a collection of engraved gems, of which he published a lavish catalogue. Life Zanetti spent his early manhood making ...

, and

Luigi Lanzi Luigi Lanzi (14 June 1732 – 30 March 1810) was an Italian art historian and archaeologist. When he died he was buried in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence by the side of Michelangelo. Biography Born in Treia, Lanzi was educated as ...

. As

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

's ''

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' ( it, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori), often simply known as ''The Lives'' ( it, Le Vite), is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-ce ...

'' was weaker on Venetian painters than Florentine ones, Ridolfi remains an important source for Venetian painting between the beginning of the Renaissance and his own day, although his accuracy is often doubted, and many of his numerous attributions, especially to

Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...

, are no longer accepted: according to Michael Hirst, "... the enormous number of paintings attributed to Giorgione by Ridolfi gravely weakens his authority". One purpose of his work was to supply a corrective to Vasari, and just as Vasari ascribes all progress in art to Florentines, Ridolfi attempts something similar for the Venetian tradition, with its closer connection to Byzantine art. He was well educated in the classics, and his style is much given to rhetorical flourishes, classical comparisons and references to poetry, whilst rather lacking Vasari's talent for telling anecdote. He approached the larger lives in a scholarly fashion, and quoted many documents, often now vanished, that remain invaluable to

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

s. His work gives great insight into the way art was seen in his own day, as well as during the lives of his subjects.Jody Ribin Shifman, Introduction to ''The ''Life of Titian'' by Carlo Ridolfi'', trans Peter and Julia Conaway Bondanella, 1996, Penn State Press, - also Translators Note He died 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 ...

in 1658.

Works

''Le maraviglie dell'arte: ovvero Le vite degli illustri pittori Veneti e dello Stato ..., Volume 1''
By Carlo Ridolfi, Giuseppe Vedova, Second edition with corrections, Tipografia Cartellier, Padua, 1835
1648 Edition. ''Vita di Giacopo Robusti''
(

), 1642 (no preview).

References

Sources

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External links

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portrait and notes from the Metropolitan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridolfi, Carlo 1594 births 1658 deaths People from Vicenza 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Venice Italian art historians Italian Baroque painters Artist authors