Francesco Fernandi (1679–1740), also known as Imperiali, was an Italian painter of the late-

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 t ...

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

period.

Biography

Born in Milan, he initially apprenticed with the painter for the

Borromeo Borromeo is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * House of Borromeo, an aristocratic family in Milan Members of the House of Borromeo * Andrea Borromeo (c. 1615 – 1683), Theatine priest * Charles Borromeo (1538 – 1584), cardina ...

family, Carlo Vimercati. After a spell in Palermo, of which little is known, he moved to Rome sometime around 1705. There he joined projects of the large studio of painters working with

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 ...

. He was patronized in Rome by the Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali, from whom he acquired the last name ''Imperiali''. We know little of his works for the Vatican and the

Ottoboni The Ottoboni were an aristocratic Venetian family, who gained prominence in Rome after the 17th century, mainly due to the papacy of Alexander VIII and his cardinal nephew, Pietro Ottoboni, known for his patronage of musicians and painters. Cardin ...

family.

In Rome, he gained an independent studio, and was apparently popular with visiting British painters, having mentored

Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to: *Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet *Allan Ramsay (artist) or Allan Ramsay the Younger (1713–1784), Scottish portrait painter *Allan Ramsay (diplomat) (1937–2022), British diplom ...

and William Hoare, among others. Among his Italian pupils is the little-known, Camillo Paderni and the more prominent

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

. In August 1723, he apparently backed the litigation and lobbying by the academic outsiders (non-members 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 ...

in Rome) like

Michelangelo Cerruti Michelangelo or Michelangiolo Cerruti (1663 – 24 December 1749) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. At a young age, he was a pupil of Giuseppe Passeri in Rome and afterwards lived for a decade in northern Italy, ...

, who sought to liberalize the control over artistic production held by the Academy. He himself was appointed along with his friend, Agostino Masucci to the Academy in 1723. He appears to have mastered painting a diversity of themes and styles, and is described by his biographer Niccolò Pio as having worked in: :''all kinds of the natural things, to perfection, and with diligence, and without academicism, (he paints) all kinds of Animals, and Fish both plural and singular, likewise fruits, Flowers, Cristalware, gold and silver goblets, tapestries, vistas, and landscapes ... Historical paintings and anything else that falls into his hands...''. He painted a large altarpiece for the church of Sant'Eustachio in Rome in 1720–24. He also painted the two canvases flanking the altarpiece (''Martyrdom'' and ''Decapitation'' of the name saints, in the chapel of ''Saints Valentine and Hilary'' in the Viterbo Cathedral. He painted an altarpiece (c. 1730) for the church of San Francesco in

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

and a ''Death of San Romualdo'' for

San Gregorio al Celio San Gregorio Magno al Celio, also known as San Gregorio al Celio or simply San Gregorio, is a church in Rome, Italy, which is part of a monastery of monks of the Camaldolese branch of the Benedictine Order. On 10 March 2012, the 1,000th anni ...

in Rome. A ''Madonana and child of the Rosary with Saints Jerome, Domenic & Francis'' (c. 1732) in Sant'Andrea in

Vetralla Vetralla is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in central Italy, south of that city, located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano. History Vetralla's dominating fortified position in the heart of Etruscan territories has been continu ...

, near

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

, is attributed to Imperiali. In 1735, Filippo Juvarra requested eight large canvases depicting allegorical virtues of a ruler for the throne room in the royal

palace of La Granja The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Spanish: ''Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso''), known as La Granja, is an early 18th-century palace in the small town of San Ildefonso, located in the hills near Segovia and north of Madri ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He commissioned paintings from Solimena, Lemoyne,

Trevisani Trevisani is an Italian surname. It may refer to: * Angelo Trevisani (1669–after 1753), Italian painter * Carter Trevisani (born 1982), Canadian ice hockey player * Francesco Trevisani (1656–1746), Italian painter * Niccolò Trevisani, Venetian ...

, Costanzi, Masucci, Pittoni, Creti and Parodi. Two of the painters had to be replaced. Lemoyne died and was replaced by Carle Vanloo; while Parodi's fees were too costly, and Imperiali was instead awarded the commission for ''Liberality'' or ''Alexander rewarding his officers''.Now in the Escorial. Clark AM, page 233. Imperiali died in Rome in 1740.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandi (Imperiali), Francesco 1679 births 1740 deaths Artists from Milan 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Italian Baroque painters Rococo painters 18th-century Italian male artists