Francesco Costanzo Catanio, self-portrait

Costanzo catanio, coronazione di spine, ante 1636

Francesco Costanzo Catanio, (1602 – July 3, 1665) was a painter of the

Italian Baroque Italian Baroque (or ''Barocco'') is a stylistic period in Italian history and art that spanned from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. History The early 17th century marked a time of change for those of the Roman Catholic religion ...

period, born and mainly active 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 ...

. He was variously known as Catanio, Cattani, Cattaneo, or Cattanio, sometimes without the forename Francesco.

Life

Catanio was born in 1602 in

, at that time in the Papal States, now in Emilia-Romagna, the son of Giulio Cesare Catanio. He initially trained under Ippolito Scarsellino in Ferrara, until – because of his "...litigious and ill-tempered..." manner – his father sent him to Bologna to study in the school of

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious ...

. On the death of his father in 1627, he returned to Ferrara, where he came under the influence of Carlo Bononi, and began to paint in a style less influenced by Ludovico Carracci and more by

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

. Catanio was described as prone to carrying a sword, hunting, and brawls. He was so quarrelsome and had such a turbulent disposition that he passed the greater portion of his life in exile or in disgrace. After injuring a soldier, Catanio was forced to seek refuge in the monastery of San Francesco where he was employed in painting frescoes. He was able to travel with the Marchese Giraldi throughout Italy.Dizionario storico degli uomini illustri ferraresi
by Luigi Ughi, page 123. In 1654, he traveled briefly to Rome in the patronage of Cardinal Carlo Pio di Savoia.

Works

One source says he excelled in painting scenes of soldiers and ruffians in combat. In his earliest works in Ferrara – a ''San Gregorio'' originally painted soon after 1630 for the church of that saint, now in Santa Maria dei Teatini, and the ''Coronazione di spine'' and ''Flagellazione'' in the Duomo from before 1636 – already show the influence of Caravaggio. He also painted studio portraits.Fondazione Zeri
Portrait of Francesco Catanio. His ''Martirio di San Matteo'' for the church of was probably painted soon after 1636, when the building was enlarged. During the Second World War two of his paintings were destroyed: a ''S. Luigi Gonzaga che rinuncia alla signoria di Castiglione'' in

Santo Stefano Santo Stefano is the Italian name of Saint Stephen. Santo Stefano may also refer to: Places Islands *Santo Stefano (island), an island in Sardinia, Italy *Santo Stefano Island, an island in the Pontine Islands, Italy Cities, towns and villages i ...

(formerly in the Gesù); and an ''Orazione nell'Orto'' in .

Life

Works

References

Further reading