Giacomo Sannesio (c. 1557/1560 – 19 February 1621) was and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, prominent

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

and patron of early 17th-century artists.

Early life

Sanessio was born in

Belforte del Chienti Belforte del Chienti is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about south of Ancona and about southeast of Macerata. Physical geography Belforte del Chienti borders the following municip ...

to a "very humble" family. He studied law and then, assisted by his brother, he went to

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 ...

and entered the service of Cardinal

Pietro Aldobrandini Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian cardinal and patron of the arts. Biography He was made a cardinal in 1593 by his uncle, Pope Clement VIII. He took over the duchy of Ferrara in 1598 when it fell to the Pa ...

. He was appointed to a number of administrative church positions.

Cardinalate

In 1604 Sannesio was elevated to cardinal by

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

and was appointed cardinal-priest of

Santo Stefano Rotondo The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill ( it, Basilica di Santo Stefano al Monte Celio, la, Basilica S. Stephani in Caelio Monte) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, ...

. He was elected

Bishop of Orvieto The Diocese of Orvieto-Todi ( la, Dioecesis Urbevetana-Tudertina) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. It was created in 1986 when the historical Diocese of Orvieto was united to the Dioc ...

in 1605. He was appointed

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church. The title is based on an Italian word for chamberlain, a word no longer used in secular contexts. The position existed from at ...

in 1620 but died early the following year on 19 February 1621 and was buried at the church of

San Silvestro al Quirinale San Silvestro al Quirinale (or ''St. Sylvester on Quirinal Hill'') is a historic church in central Rome, Italy. It is located near Via XXIV Maggio corner with Via Mazzarino, a few blocks south of the Piazza del Quirinale. History The first ment ...

Art patronage and collection

As cardinal, Sannesio became a renowned art collector and patron.''Galerie Canesso ''
(Master Art) He became an early supporter of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

. The artist submitted a number of works as part of a commission from the church 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 ...

.''Caravaggio''
by Helen Langdon (

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 2012) But when some early works were rejected, Sannesio provided financial support by buying the paintings himself. Caravaggio's paintings, the '' Crucifixion of St. Peter'' and the ''

Conversion on the Way to Damascus The ''Conversion on the Way to Damascus'' (''Conversione di San Paolo'') is a work by Caravaggio, painted in 1601 for the Cerasi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in Rome. Across the chapel is a second Caravaggio depicting the '' C ...

'' were eventually accepted by the church. Other historians have queried this version of events, suggesting that Sannesio's purchases were, more simply, retouched copies, though still created by Caravaggio. In any event, the versions were of such a quality that some scholars even queried their authorship. Only one, Sannesio's version of the ''Conversion on the Way to Damascus'', survives and is now in the

Odescalchi The House of Erba-Odescalchi () and the House of Odescalchi are branches of an Italian noble family formed by the union of the Erba and Odescalchi families. The Odescalchi family was, since the election of Benedetto Odescalchi as Pope Innocen ...

collection. Sannesio also bought a series of paintings from

Orazio Gentileschi Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After ...

, some of which remained in the estates of his descendants for many generations.''Gentileschi''
by Keith Christiansen & Judith Walker Mann (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sannesi, Giacomo 17th-century Italian cardinals 16th-century births 1621 deaths Year of birth unknown People from the Province of Macerata