Cesare Corte (1554–1613) was an Italian painter of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

period, active mainly in his natal city of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. He was the pupil of his father, the Venetian painter and later alchemist

Valerio Corte Valerio Corte (Venice, 1530 – Genoa, 1580) was an Italian painter and alchemist of the Renaissance. He was the father of the painter Cesare Corte, and is known to have been acquainted with Titian. He was a topic of the Rafaello Soprani. He ...

. He trained under

Luca Cambiaso Luca Cambiaso (also known as Luca Cambiasi and Luca Cangiagio (being ''Cangiaxo'' the surname in Ligurian); 18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585) was an Italian painter and draughtsman and the leading artist in Genoa in the 16th century. He i ...

. According to Baldinucci, he was often in demand as a portrait painter. As a young man, he traveled to London and Paris. It is said that Queen

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

of England requested a portrait from him, although he is not mentioned in Lord Orfurd's ''Anecdotes''. In Genoa, he painted ''Saints Simon and Francis'' for Santa Maria del Carmine. He painted ''San Pietro di Banchi adoring the Virgin'' (1600) for the church of the same name. For the church of San Pietro he painted the titular Saint at the feet of the Virgin; for San Francesco, the altar-piece of the chapel of Prince Massa, representing ''Mary Magdalene''; and for the church of Santa Maria del Carmine two pictures of ''St. Simeon and St. Francis''. He was known for painting portraits. On December 30, 1612, he was imprisoned by the

Roman Inquisition The Roman Inquisition, formally the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, respons ...

for espousing

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

beliefs and possessing Protestant literature. He confessed and underwent a public

abjuration Abjuration is the solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath, often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege. The term comes from the Latin ''abjurare'', "to forswear". Abjuration of the realm Abj ...

of his heretical beliefs on August 11, 1613 in the church of San Domenico. He was condemned to life in prison, although he died within weeks.R. Soprani, p 104. Cesare's son, Davidde, was trained as a painter by

Domenico Fiasella Domenico Fiasella (12 August 1589 – 19 October 1669) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Genoa. He was nicknamed ''Il Sarzana'', after his birthplace. Biography He was born in c, the son of Giovanni Fiasella, a silver ...

. Davidde died in 1657 during the plague. Other pupils were

Bernardo Strozzi Bernardo Strozzi, named il Cappuccino and il Prete Genovese (c. 1581 – 2 August 1644) was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver. A canvas and fresco artist, his wide subject range included history, allegorical, genre and portrait paintin ...

and

Luciano Borzone Luciano Borzone (1590 – 12 July 1645) was an Italian people, Italian painter of a late-Mannerism, Mannerist and early-Baroque styles active mainly in his natal city of Genoa. Biography After an apprenticeship with Filippo Bertolotto, his un ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corte, Cesare 1554 births 1613 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Painters from Genoa Renaissance painters Victims of the Inquisition Italian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Italian people who died in prison custody