Cristoforo Roncalli (c. 1552–1626) was an Italian

mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

painter. He was one of the three painters known as ''Pomarancio'' or ''Il Pomarancio''. Cristoforo Roncalli - Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine - WGA18063

Cristoforo Roncalli - Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine - WGA18063

Life

Roncalli was born in

Pomarance Pomarance is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about 60 km southeast of Pisa. Pomarance borders the following municipalities: Casole d'Elsa, Castelnuovo ...

, a town near

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volter ...

. His training occurred in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, and around 1578, he relocated to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he worked for

Niccolò Circignani Niccolò Circignani (c. 1517/1524 – after 1596) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period. Biography Born in Pomarance, he is one of three Italian painters called Pomarancio. His first works are documented from th ...

(also known as ''il Pomarancio''). Most of his

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

work was in Rome, though he worked for a decade in Loreto (1605–1615), where he decorated the New Sacristy. In Rome he decorated the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

of the church of Santa Maria di Loreto and of

San Silvestro in Capite The Basilica of Saint Sylvester the First, also known as ( it, San Silvestro in Capite, la, Sancti Silvestri in Capite), is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome dedicated to Pope Sylvester I (d. AD 335). It is located on th ...

. He helped decorate ''

Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians, ...

'' for the Oratory of San Filippo Neri. He also painted for the

Oratory of Santissimo Crocifisso The Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso or the Oratory of the Most Holy Crucifix is a building in central Rome, Italy. Located next to the church of San Marcello al Corso, it served as a prayer hall and meeting house for the Archconfraternity of t ...

, the ''Baptism of Constantine'' and ''St. Simon'' in the transept of

San Giovanni in Laterano The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

, and designed the mosaics in the ''Cappella Clementina'' in the

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

. One of his pupils from Siena was

Alessandro Casolano Alessandro Casolani (1552–1606) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, active mainly in Siena. Biography He was also called ''Alessandro della Torre''. He was born at Siena, and was the pupil of Ventura Salimbeni and of Cristofo ...

, and his son Ilario Casolano. Roncalli was named a Cavaliere of Christ in 1607. He died in Rome in 1626.

Works

*''Madonna and Child with Saints Anthony and Agatha'' (1576), Museo del

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition not ...

, Siena *Frescoes at Palazzo Agostini (1576), Siena *Life of St Francis de Paula (c. 1579-84),

Trinità dei Monti The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called merely the Trinità dei Monti ( French: ''La Trinité-des-Monts''), is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church in Rome, central Italy. It is best known for its position above ...

, Rome *''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

'',

Palazzo Bindi A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, Siena *''Ciclo degli avvenimenti della confraternita del Crocefisso'' (1583 - 1584), San Marcello al Corso church *''Passion of Christ'', (1585 - 1590) Rome,

Santa Maria in Aracoeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. I ...

, Rome *''Life of St Paul'' (1585 - 1590) Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Rome *''Life of St Philip of Neri'' (1596 - 1599),

, Rome *''St Domitilla with Saints Nereus and Achilles'' (1599),

Santi Nereo e Achilleo Santi Nereo ed Achilleo is a fourth-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, located in via delle Terme di Caracalla in the rione Celio facing the main entrance to the Baths of Caracalla. It has been the titular church of Cardinal Celestino Aós ...

, Rome *''Baptism of Constantine the Great'' (1600),

, Rome *''Eterno Benedicente'', Chapel of the Sacraments,

, Rome *''St Simon'' (1599),

Santa Maria della Scala Santa Maria della Scala (English: Mary of the Staircase) is a titular church in Rome, Italy, located in the Trastevere rione. Cardinal Ernest Simoni took possession of the titular church on 11 February 2017. Santa Maria della Scala is a titular ...

, Rome *''Madonna with Child Jesus blessing'' 123 x 97 cm, 1600 circa,

Galleria Nazionale delle Marche The Ducal Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale) is a Renaissance building in the Italian city of Urbino in the Marche. One of the most important monuments in Italy, it is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. History The construction of the ...

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

*''Madonna and Child, St Augustine, St Mary Magdalen and Angels'' 253 x 166 cm, 1610-1615,

Brera Gallery The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

*''The Presentation of the Temple'',

Recanati Recanati () is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Macerata, in the Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, ...

, San Vito church *''Saints Clare and Margaret of Cortona'', attributed, Cappuccini Church,

*Frescoes at

Basilica della Santa Casa The Basilica della Santa Casa ( en, Basilica of the Holy House) is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pio ...

, Loreto *''Life of the Virgin'', (1606-1610) Treasure Hall (Sala del Tesoro),

, Loreto *''Ceiling of Palazzo Gallo'',

Osimo Osimo is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. , Osimo had a total population of 35,037. ...

, Palazzo Gallo. *''St Joseph frees souls from Purgatory'', (attributed)

Potenza Picena Potenza Picena is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche, about southeast of Ancona and about northeast of Macerata. ''Potentia'' was the Roman town situated in the lower Potenza valley, in the ...

, communal gallery *Crucifixion,

, communal gallery *''Madonna della Misericordia'', Chiesa della Misericordia,

San Severino Marche San Severino Marche is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. History From prehistory to Roman age The oldest remains of human pre ...

*''Madonna del Carmelo'', (attributed) communal gallery,

Corridonia Corridonia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about south of Ancona and about southeast of Macerata. Corridonia was called, until 1931, Pausula. The name was changed by Benito Mussoli ...

*''Enthroned Madonna with Child and Saints'' (1595) (communal gallery)

Mapello Mapello (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about west of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,806 and an area ...

(BG), Carvisi-Cabanetti with Oratorio Maria Annunziata *''Santi Nursini'', (early 17th-century) Norcia, Concattedrale di Santa Maria ArgenteaRomano Cordella, Norcia e territorio. *''Portrait of Cardinal

Antonio Maria Gallo Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

'', private collection

References

Bibliography

*"Macerata e il suo territorio: la Pittura" by Giuseppe Vitalini Sacconi *Romano Cordella, "Norcia e territorio" (''Norcia and the Surrounding Area'').

External links

''Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on Cristoforo Roncalli (see index)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roncalli, Cristoforo 1550s births 1626 deaths People from Pomarance 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian Mannerist painters