Domenico Passignano (1559 – 17 May 1638), born Domenico Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-

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 ...

or Counter-''Maniera'' (

Counter-Mannerism Counter-''Maniera'' or Counter-Mannerism (variously capitalized and part-italicized) is a term in art history for a trend identified by some art historians in 16th-century Italian painting that forms a sub-category or phase of Mannerism, the dom ...

) style that emerged in

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 an ...

towards the end of the 16th century.

Biography

Cresti was born in Passignano, currently a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of Barberino Tavarnelle about 30 km south of Florence, and was educated by the local

Vallombrosan The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of their motherhouse founded in Vallombrosa ( la, Vallis umbrosa, sha ...

monks. He started his works in the stylized Tuscan manner, working with

Giovanni Battista Naldini Giovanni Battista Naldini (1535–1591) was an Italian painter in a late-Mannerist style, active in Florence and Rome. Biography His first apprenticeship (1549–1557) was in the studio of Jacopo Pontormo. He went from Rome for a number of mon ...

and Girolamo Macchietti. After travelling from

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 ...

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 ...

(1581–1589), he came under the influence 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 ...

's style. He had traveled to Venice as an assistant to Federico Zuccari, who had employed him previously in the completion of Giorgio Vasari's ''

The Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

'' on the ceiling of the dome of

Florence Cathedral Florence Cathedral, formally the (; in English Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower), is the cathedral of Florence, Italy ( it, Duomo di Firenze). It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally c ...

. He was known to paint with great speed; however, as he used less paint in order to work quickly, most of his works have been severely damaged by time. As a result of this gift, he was nicknamed Passa Ognuno (" ePasses Everyone") – a possible play upon the name of his birthplace. In Florence, he painted

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 ...

es of the ''Translation'' and ''Funeral of Saint Antoninus'' (1589) for the Cappella Salviati in San Marco and ''Preaching of John the Baptist'' (1590) for

San Michele Visdomini San Michele Visdomini is a Roman Catholic church in the centre of Florence, central Italy. The original church of San Michele was demolished in 1368 to make space for the tribunes of the new Cathedral of Florence. Soon it was rebuilt in its present ...

. He painted a ''Nativity'' (1594) for Lucca's

Duomo di San Martino Lucca Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Lucca, Cattedrale di San Martino) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours in Lucca, Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Lucca. Construction was begun in 1063 by Bishop Anselm (later ...

. Other works by Passignano can be found in the church 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 Vittori ...

(Barberini Chapel), the

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, Major papal basilica as well ...

(Baptistery ceilings) and

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, ...

(altarpiece of the Chapel of the Annunciation) in Rome, San Frediano in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, in the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

, and his ''Our Lady of the Jacobins'' (1630) in the

Besançon Cathedral Besançon Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Jean de Besançon) is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint John located in the city of Besançon, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Besançon. The cathedral consists of a large nave ...

. In addition painted famous portraits of

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

and

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

. He also painted frescoes for the Vallumbrosan

Badia di Passignano The Badia di Passignano, also called the ''Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo a Passignano'' is a historic Benedictine abbey located atop a scenic hilltop, surrounded by cypresses, east of the town of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Province of Florence, Italy ...

in his hometown. Among his pupils were the brothers

Valore and Domenico Casini Valore Casini (1590–1660) and Domenico Casini (active, 17th century) were two brothers, both Italian painters, active in Florence, mainly as portraitists in the first half of the 17th century. History They both trained in the studio of Domenico ...

Pietro Sorri Pietro Sorri (1558-1622) was an Italian painter active in Siena. Biography He first studied under Arcangelo Salimbeni (father of Ventura), and afterwards under Cavaliere Domenico Passignano, whom he accompanied to Venice. Several of his works ar ...

,Dizionario ragionato delle voci delle arte del disegno architettura, pittura, scultura ed industrie affini
(1888), by Giuseppe A. Boidi, page 367. and

Cesare Dandini Cesare Dandini (1 October 1596– 7 February 1657) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in his native city of Florence. Biography He was the older brother of the painter Vincenzo Dandini (1609–1675). His nephew, Pi ...

. Passignano died at Florence in 1638.

Selected works

*''Ganymede and Jupiter'', University Oklahoma Museum of Ar

*''The Allegory of Chastity''

*''Wedding Banquet of Grand Duke Ferdinand I de Medici''

*'' Bathers at San Niccolò'', 1600 File:Bathers at San Niccolo.jpg, '' Bathers at San Niccolò'', 1600 File:Domenico Cresti, il Passsignano, part of a sketch of Charity flanked by Glory and Happiness, circa 1608.jpg, Sketch of ''Charity flanked by Glory and Happiness'', circa 1608

Sources

* *

External links

''Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on Domenico Passignano (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Passignano, Domenico 1559 births 1636 deaths People from Tavarnelle Val di Pesa 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Painters from Tuscany Mannerist painters Fresco painters