Francesco Gessi (20 January 1588 – 1649) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Biography

Born to a noble family, his father noticed his attraction to the arts and placed him in the apprenticeship with

Denys Calvaert Denis (or Denys or Denijs) Calvaert (; around 154016 April 1619) was an Antwerp-born Flemish painter, who lived in Italy for most of his life, where he was known as Dionisio Fiammingo () or simply Il Fiammingo ("the Fleming"). Calvaert was a pro ...

. This did not last, since he apparently disturbed the other pupils. He was more successful under the tutelage of Guido Reni. From there, he obtained commissions to fresco in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, and also the ''Capella del Tesoro'' in the

Naples Cathedral The Naples Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Napoli; nap, Viscuvato 'e Napule), or Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, links=no), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the s ...

. Supposedly Guido Reni turned down the Neapolitan commission after being threatened by Belisario Corenzio and others. Gessi took up the work, but two of his pupils, Lorenzo Menini and Giovanni Battista Ruggieri, disappeared. Gessi ultimately desisted from attempting to complete the latter in the dangerously competitive art world of Naples.A Biographical History of the Fine Arts, or Memoirs of the Lives and Works
by Shearjashub Spooner, page 552. Returning to Bologna, he began a campaign against his former patron, Reni, attempting to compete and dismissing Reni's achievements. He was able to establish a prolific studio in Bologna. His main collaborator from the studio of Reni was

Giovanni Giacomo Sementi Giovanni Giacomo Semenza (18 July 1580 – 1638) was an Italian painter of the early Baroque period. Born in Bologna and also known as ''Giacomo Sementi''. He was a pupil of the painter Denis Calvaert, then of Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 No ...

, and among his pupils were Giovanni Battista Ruggieri and his brother

Ercolino Ruggiero Ercole Ruggiero (17th century) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was initially a devoted pupil of Francesco Gessi in Bologna; and also was known as ''Ercolino del Gessi'' or ''Ercolino da Bologna''. His brother was known as ''Batt ...

Giacomo Castellini Giacomo Castellini (active 1678) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was a pupil of Francesco Gessi in Bologna. He painted a copy of Guido Reni's ''Massacre of the Innocents'' for the Basilica of San Petronio The Basilica of San Pe ...

Francesco Correggio Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), seve ...

, and

Giulio Trogli Giulio Trogli (1613–1685) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography He was initially a pupil of Francesco Gessi in Bologna. Giulio Trogli, devoting himself to quadratura, under Agostino Mitelli Agostino Mitelli (16 March 1609 � ...

References

Sources

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Biography
1588 births 1649 deaths People from the Province of Bologna 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Bologna Italian Baroque painters {{Italy-painter-16thC-stub