Ciro Ferri (1634 – 13 September 1689) was an Italian

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 ...

sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

. He was born in

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 ...

, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresco decorations of the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...

(1656–59). He collaborated with Cortona and completed for him the extensive frescoed ceilings and other internal decorations begun in the

Pitti Palace The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

(1659–65). His independent masterpiece is considered an extensive series of scriptural frescoes in the church of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Bergamo). Also well known is his an altarpiece of ''St Ambrose Healing the Sick'' in the church of

Sant'Ambrogio della Massima Sant'Ambrogio della Massima (also Sant'Ambrogio alla Massima) is a Roman Catholic church in rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy, that perhaps dates to the 4th century. It was a convent until it became the subject of a Vatican investigation in the 1 ...

in Rome. In 1670, he began the painting of the cupola of

Sant'Agnese in Agone Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona) is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christi ...

in central Rome, in a style recalling of Lanfranco's work in the dome of

Sant'Andrea della Valle Sant'Andrea della Valle is a minor basilica in the rione of Sant'Eustachio of the city of Rome, Italy. The basilica is the general seat for the religious order of the Theatines. It is located at Piazza Vidoni, at the intersection of Corso Vit ...

; but died before it was completed in 1693 by his successor Sebastiano Corbellini. He executed also a large amount of miscellaneous designs, such as etchings and frontispieces for books; and served as an architect as well. Ferri was appointed to direct the Florentine students in Rome, and Gabbiani was one of his leading pupils. As regards style, Ferri ranks as chief of the grand manner of Cortona, also known as the Machinists movement, as opposed to the more sober and spare style promulgated by

Andrea Sacchi Andrea Sacchi (30 November 159921 June 1661) was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors ...

, and continued by

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition ...

and others. Among the many pupils and assistants were

Ambrogio Besozzi Ambrogio Besozzi or ''Giovanni Ambrogio Besozzi'' (1648–1706) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Life He was born in Milan in 1648 where his first training was with Gioseffo Danedi, ''il Montalto''. He assisted Ciro Ferri in Rome wit ...

Camillo Gabrielli Camillo Gabrielli (circa 1670 -1730) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period. He was a native of Pisa, was a scholar of Ciro Ferri. Lanzi states that he was the first who introduced the style of Pietro da Cortona among his countrymen. H ...

, Marziale Carpinoni, Filippo Maria Galetti,

Benedetto Luti Benedetto Luti (17 November 1666 – 17 June 1724) was an Italian painter. Early life Luti was born in Florence on 17 November 1666. Career In 1691, he moved to Rome, where he was patronized by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, an en ...

Giovanni Battista Marmi Giovanni Battista Marmi (1659–1686) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He initially apprenticed with Vincenzo Dandini, then Livio Mehus, then moved to Rome to become a pupil of the painter Ciro Ferri and Giovanni Maria Morandi Giov ...

Pietro Montanini Pietro Montanini (1619–1689), also called ''Petruccio Perugino'', was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in Perugia and first apprenticed with the painter Ciro Ferri, then Salvator Rosa Salvator Rosa (1615 –1673) is bes ...

Giuseppe Nasini Giuseppe Nicola Nasini (January 25, 1657– July 3, 1736) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Rome and Tuscany. Biography Born in Castel del Piano, now in the Province of Grosseto, Giuseppe was the son of the painter Frances ...

Giovanni Odazzi Giovanni Odazzi (1663 – 6 June 1731) was an Italian painter and etcher of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. Biography Rest on Flight to Egypt He was a pupil of Ciro Ferri, then worked under the guidance of Giovanni Battista Gaulli. He ...

Tommaso Redi Tommaso Redi (22 December 1665 – 10 October 1726) was an Italian painter, active during the late-Baroque in his native Florence. He initially apprenticed with the Florentine painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani (1652–1726), and then moved t ...

, and

Urbano Romanelli Urbano Romanelli (c. 1645–1682) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in Viterbo, the son of the painter, Giovanni Francesco Romanelli. After his father died, he entered the studio of Ciro Ferri in Rome. He painted in Ro ...

. Ciro Ferri became a member of the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

on 3 June 1657. His ciborium for the high altar of Santa Maria in Vallicella is a masterpieces of 17th-century bronze decorative sculpture. He continued under the patronage of the Medici, when together with the sculptor

Ercole Ferrata Ercole Ferrata (1610 – 10 July 1686) was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque. Biography A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants. When hi ...

, Ferri the painter led the Medici Academy in Rome, established in 1673 by Grand Duke

Cosimo III Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinan ...

of Tuscany. Among the pupils sent there from Florence were

Anton Domenico Gabbiani Anton Domenico Gabbiani (13 February 1652 – 22 November 1726) was an Italian painter and active in a late Baroque style. Biography Born in Florence, Gabbiani first apprenticed with the Medici court portrait painter Justus Sustermans, then ...

Giovanni Battista Foggini Giovanni Battista (Giambattista) Foggini (25 April 1652 – 12 April 1725) was an Italian sculptor active in Florence, renowned mainly for small bronze statuary. Biography Born in Florence, the young Foggini was sent to Rome by the Medici Gra ...

Atanasio Bimbacci Atanasio Bimbacci (circa 1654 -1734) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in his native Florence. He painted a ''St Louis Gonzaga'' for the church of Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi in Florence. He also decorated a number ...

, Carlo Marcellini, and

Massimiliano Soldani Benzi Massimiliano Soldani or Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (15 July 1656 – 23 February 1740) was an Italian baroque sculptor and medallist, mainly active in Florence. Born at Montevarchi, the son of a Tuscan cavalry captain, Soldani was employed by t ...

. Ferri was also responsible for the

Reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...

of the Arm of St. John the Baptist which is found in the

St John's Co-Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral ( mt, Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand M ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Ciro Ferri contributed five illustrations to the missal of

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

Chigi, which was published in 1662. It also contained works by fellow artists in Rome, including

, Carlo Cesi,

Guglielmo Cortese Guillaume Courtois or italianized as Guglielmo Cortese, called Il Borgognone or Le Bourguignon ('the Burgundian'), (1628 – 14 or 15 June 1679 Carlo Maratti Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition ...

Jan Miel Jan Miel (1599 in Beveren-Waas – April 1664 in Turin) was a Flemish painter and engraver who was active in Italy. He initially formed part of the circle of Dutch and Flemish genre painters in Rome who are referred to as the 'Bambocciant ...

Cornelis Bloemaert Cornelis Bloemaert II (1603 – 28 September 1692), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver. Biography Bloemaert was born at Utrecht. He studied with his father, Abraham Bloemaert, his brothers Hendrick and Adriaan, and his father's pupi ...

, and Pier Francesco Mola. ''17th Century Italian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art''
By Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), Jacob Bean. He died in Rome in 1689.

References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferri, Ciro 1634 births 1689 deaths Painters from Rome 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Baroque painters