Francesco Caldei - Flowers in an antique style relief vase

Francesco Caldei called Francesco Mantovano or Mantovani (1587/88 in

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

– 22 May 1674 in Venice) was an Italian painter, mainly known as a still-life painter of flowers, fruits, animals and musical instruments.Francesco Mantovano
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

He also collaborated on garland and allegorical paintings. He was an art valuer and may also have been active as an art dealer. He worked first in Rome and then for the rest of his career in Venice. Here his flower pieces with their Roman flavour and the pleasantness of composition earned the artist considerable commercial success with the Venetian bourgeoisie.Gianluca Bocchi, ''Francesco Caldei detto Francesco Mantovano, un pittore lombardo fra Roma e Venezia Parma per l'Arte''
Nuova Serie, Anno XXI, 2015 Gianluca Bocchi

Life

Little is known about the early life of Caldei. Only recent scholarship has identified the artist referred to in contemporary sources as 'Francesco Mantovano' was in fact properly called 'Francesco Caldei'. From contemporary records it has been deduced that he was born in the year 1587-88. His secondary name 'Mantovano' means 'from Mantua', which indicates that he was originally from the city of Mantua. He is believed to have apprenticed in Mantua in the period from 1600 to 1609. The presence of Caldei in Mantua is documented in a letter sent by

Marco Boschini Marco Boschini (1602–1681) was an Italian painter and engraver of the early Baroque period in Venice. He was born in Venice, and was educated in the school of Palma il Giovane. He painted ''The Last Supper'' for the sacristy of at Venice. He ...

to Leopoldo de' Medici which states that Chaldei had authenticated a portrait of

Frans Pourbus the Younger Frans Pourbus the Younger (1569–1622) was a Flemish painter, son of Frans Pourbus the Elder and grandson of Pieter Pourbus. He was born in Antwerp and died in Paris. He is also referred to as "Frans II". Pourbus worked for many of the highly ...

whom Caldei had testified to having known and frequented in Mantua. In 1613 the record of the souls of the parish of

Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...

in Rome notes that there was a painter living with four other persons in the house of Claudio Napoli. It is believed that is a reference to

Bartolomeo Manfredi Bartolomeo Manfredi (baptised 25 August 1582 – 12 December 1622) was an Italian painter, a leading member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) of the early 17th century. Life Manfredi was born in Ostiano, nea ...

and his cohabitants, including Francesco Caldei. Caldei is mentioned as a boy or servant of Manfredi. In 1615 the record of the souls of the parish of

San Lorenzo in Lucina The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina ( it, Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Lucina or simply it, San Lorenzo in Lucina; la, S. Laurentii in Lucina) is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome, Italy. ...

in Rome a "Francesco Caldeo" is referred to as a 'servant' of Bartolomeo Manfredi and as still living with his master. In 1625 the records of the souls of the parish of San Eustachio in Rome recorded a "Francesco Mantuano Pittore" (Francesco from Mantua, painter), living together with other persons in a house. He had probably lived there for some time. In the second half of 1625 Caldei moved from Rome to Venice. In the same period the Flemish painter

Nicolas Régnier Nicolas Régnier (1591–1667), known in Italy as Niccolò Renieri, was a painter, art dealer and art collector from the County of Hainaut, a French-speaking part of the Spanish Netherlands. He is often referred to as a Flemish artist because ...

and the German painter Joseph Heintz the Younger also moved to Venice. Caldei would remain close to these two painters for the rest of his life. He made bequests to them in his first testament of 1663. He also maintained a close relationship with Régnier's son-in-law, the Flemish painter

Daniel van den Dyck Daniel van den Dyck, known in Italy as Daniel VandichDaniël van Dyck
at the

who later became the court painter of the Dukes of Mantua. Caldei is recorded in Venetian records from 1636 onwards. In the 1642 census of the Provveditori alla Sanità a Francesco Mantovano is recorded as living with a boy, perhaps an apprentice, and a woman. On 2 December 1648 the Gonzaga resident in Venice Francesco Framberti sent four paintings of fruits to the Duke of Mantua specifying that they had been painted by a Mantuan painter who had been artistically trained in Rome. It is believed that this artist was Caldei. Francesco Caldei - Flower garland surrounding the Virgin Annunciate

Francesco Caldei - Flower garland surrounding the Virgin Annunciate

In July 1651 Caldei married Giovanna de Poli, a widow. In the wedding contract, dated 6 July 1657, the amount of the dowry and its destination at the death of her husband were specified. On 21 November 1660 his wife wrote her will. It is not clear when she died. The biographer

dedicated some quatrains to Francesco Mantovano and inserted a woodcut derived of one his paintings in an gallery of famous Venetian painters in his ''La carta del navegar pitoresco'', which was published in 1660. In 1661 Caldei is cited as an expert and intermediary for the sale of statues owned by the nobleman

Pietro Marcello Pietro Marcello (born 2 July 1976) is an Italian film director. He has directed more than eight documentary films since 2004. In 2015 he directed his first fiction film, '' Lost and Beautiful''. Several of his films have been presented at internat ...

Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (31 October 1629 – 14 August 1665) was the son of Charles of Gonzaga-Nevers (d. 1631) of Rethel, Nevers, Mantua, and Montferrat; and Maria Gonzaga. He followed his grandfather Charles I, Duke of ...

. In 1663 the painter is included in the Fifth Catalogue of painters of name who currently live in Venice which Giustiniano Martinioni added to his ''Venetia città nobilissima et singolare descritta in XIII libri da M. Francesco Sansovino''. On 21 November 1663 he made a will. From the will it is clear that his first wife had died and that he had not yet remarried. In 1665 the artist was hired as assessor of the inventory of Giuseppe Martis' estate. In 1672 he was again mentioned in the same role, this time for the estate of the painter Giovan Andrea Fumiani. On 19 May 1674, Caldei wrote his second will. From the deed it is clear that he had remarried. He died on 22 May 1674 in Venice.

Work

Caldei is mainly known as a still-life painter of flowers, fruits, animals and musical instruments. He also collaborated with other artists on garland paintings and allegorical paintings. Giulio Carpioni and Francesco Caldei - Smell

Giulio Carpioni and Francesco Caldei - Smell

Caldei did not sign his paintings. His oeuvre has been reconstituted on the basis of four still lifes in the collection of the Pinacoteca dell'Accademia a Palazzo Roverella in

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

. His work is clearly impacted by the Roman artistic milieu of his time. His master Bartolomeo Manfredi must have taught him to the naturalism that Caravaggio had introduced into Roman art. His style of flower painting was likely influenced by his study of the vases with flowers which he had seen in the workshop of

Tommaso Salini Tommaso Salini (1575 – 13 September 1625), also known as Mao Salini, was an Italian painter of the early- Baroque period, active in Rome. He is best remembered for defending his friend, Giovanni Baglione, in his libel suit against Caravaggio a ...

in Rome. His flower pieces are close to those of Mario Nuzzi who was a pupil of Salini. In the past it was believed that Caldei was a pupil of Nuzzi, but this thesis has now been disproved as Caldei was in fact older than Nuzzi and already a trained painter at the time Nuzzi arrived in Rome. Salini inspired Caldei to use elegant vases decorated with figures and surmounted by spectacular bouquets. Flemish innovations such as flying butterflies and dragonflies were also influential on Caldei. Francesco Caldei - Flowers in a vase with a sculpted mask2

Francesco Caldei - Flowers in a vase with a sculpted mask2

Although he was described as a painter of fruits, animals and musical instruments, no works in those genres have been attributed to him do date. It is believed that he collaborated with other painters such as Joseph Heintz the Younger and

Giulio Carpioni Giulio Carpioni (1613 – 29 January 1678) was an Italian painter and etcher of the early Baroque era. Life Born probably in Venice, Carpioni studied under Alessandro Varotari (''il Padovanino'') and was also influenced by the work of Simone Ca ...

and added still life elements or animals in their compositions. An example is the pair of allegories of ''Touch'' and ''Smell'' (private collection) in which Caldei painted the flowers in an urn and Giulio Carpioni painted the rest. Some of his collaborations involved the created of so-called 'garland paintings'. Garland paintings were first painted in early 17th century Antwerp by

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborato ...

and subsequently practised by leading Flemish still life painters, such as

Daniel Seghers Daniël Seghers or Daniel Seghers (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of flower garland painting.I ...

. Paintings in this genre typically show a flower or, less frequently, fruit garland around a devotional image or portrait.Susan Merriam, ''Seventeenth-Century Flemish Garland Paintings. Still Life, Vision and the Devotional Image'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012David Freedberg, "The Origins and Rise of the Flemish Madonnas in Flower Garlands, Decoration and Devotion", ''Münchener Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'', xxxii, 1981, pp. 115–150.

Abraham Brueghel Abraham Brueghel (baptised 28 November 1631 – c. 1690) was a Flemish painter from the famous Brueghel family of artists. He emigrated at a young age to Italy where he played an important role in the development of the style of decorative Baroq ...

, the grandson of Jan Brueghel the Elder, introduced the genre into Italy where he worked for 40 years.Anne Betty Weinshenker, ''Resemblance, reality, and revenge: Nicola Van Houbranken's Portrait of François Rivière'', In: Giovanna Summerfield, ''Vendetta: Essays on Honor and Revenge'', Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010, pp. 81-92 An example of Caldei's efforts in this genre are a pair of garland paintings of flowers surrounding an image of the ''angel Gabriel'' and the ''Virgin Annunciate'' (Sotheby's, 10 April 2013 London lot 95). It has not been identified which artist painted the figures in the garlands, which are based on models by

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious ...

.Francesco Mantovano, ''Flower garland surrounding the angel Gabriel'' and ''Flower garland surrounding the Virgin Annunciate''
at Sotheby's Caldei was also capable of reproducing other artist's models in his own compositions. A pair of canvases depicting a ''Still Life with Vase of Flowers in a Coastal Landscape Setting'' (Sotheby's, 7 July 2011 London lot 219) shows his good knowledge of Heintz' paintings.Francesco Mantovano, ''Still Life with Vase of Flowers in a Coastal Landscape Setting''
at Sotheby's They depict in the foreground vases with flowers, birds on the ground and in flight, a butterfly, a snail and in the background a seascape and glimpses of coastal cities surrounded by mountains.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldei, Francescol 1587 births 1674 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian still life painters Italian male painters Painters from Mantua