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Gioacchino Assereto (1600 – 28 June 1649) was an Italian painter of the early
at the Prado Museum He was active in Genoa. In 1639 Assereto he travelled to Rome where he visited the studios of various painters. He likely met Genoese artists working in Rome, such as
In the 1640s Assereto was active as a fresco painter. The artist was very successful in Genoa and in his later years many copies of his work were produced in his studio, some by his son Giuseppe Assereto. The artist was in his lifetime praised by the contemporary Genoese biographer
In 1640 Assereto painted ''The Lamentation'', a powerful picture which uses a black background and intense shadows to give dramatic effect to Christ's dead body that almost seems to shimmer in the darkness.Gioacchino Assereto, ''The Lamentation''
at Cummer Museum A work also showing this Caravaggist influence is the ''Death of Cato'' (Musei di Strada Nuova, Palazzo Bianco, Genoa), in which Assereto moved away from his refined style with vivid colours to a bolder, more powerful style where theatrical effects of flaming torches and candlelight emphasize violent emotions. The work also shows the influence of northern Caravaggesque painters such asGioacchino Assereto, ''Ecce homo''
at Sotheby's
His late works often depict figures at three-quarter-length and are characterised by a sober realism, a delicate psychological tension between the figures and the grave beauty of the still lifes. These works have been compared to works by Velázquez and Murillo. An example is ''Esau sells his birthright'' (c. 1645; 
Gioacchino Assereto was also active as a fresco painter. In the 1640s he painted frescoes for the Palazzo Granello and commissioned works for the Sant'Agostino church. Only fragments of these frescoes have been preserved.
Gioacchino Assereto (1600 – 28 June 1649) was an Italian painter of the early 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 ...
period and one of the most prominent history painters active in Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
in the first half of the 17th century.
Life
He initially apprenticed at age 12 withLuciano Borzone
Luciano Borzone (1590 – 12 July 1645) was an Italian people, Italian painter of a late-Mannerism, Mannerist and early-Baroque styles active mainly in his natal city of Genoa.
Biography
After an apprenticeship with Filippo Bertolotto, his un ...
and from circa 1614 in the studio of Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo
Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo (1584 – August 18, 1638) was an Italian painter active mainly in Genoa.
Life
Ansaldo was born in Voltri, now part of the ''comune'' of Genoa, the son of a merchant. He trained under Orazio Cambiasi and possibly collabo ...
.M. Newcome. "Assereto, Gioacchino." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 14 May 2016 He attended the Academy of the Nude (painting from nude models) instituted by Giancarlo Doria.Assereto, Gioacchinoat the Prado Museum He was active in Genoa. In 1639 Assereto he travelled to Rome where he visited the studios of various painters. He likely met Genoese artists working in Rome, such as
Luca Saltarello
Luca Saltarello (c. 1610 – c. 1645) was an Italian Baroque painter known for his religious compositions. After training in Genoa he worked the rest of his short life in Rome.
Life
Little is known about the background of this artist who was ...
, Giovanni Maria Bottalla, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (baptized 23 March 16095 May 1664) was an Italian Baroque painter, printmaker and draftsman, of the Genoese school. He is best known now for his etchings, and as the inventor of the printmaking technique of monoty ...
and Giovanni Andrea Podestà
Giovanni Andrea Podestà or Giovanni Andrea Podesta (1608 - c. 1674) was an Italian painter and engraver who was principally active in Rome. His principal subject matter is children playing in landscapes with classical objects. His works show the ...
. His stay in Rome was important as it brought him in contact with the developing realism of the followers of Caravaggio.
In the 1640s Assereto was active as a fresco painter. The artist was very successful in Genoa and in his later years many copies of his work were produced in his studio, some by his son Giuseppe Assereto. The artist was in his lifetime praised by the contemporary Genoese biographer Raffaele Soprani Raffaele Soprani (1612-1672) was an Italian aristocrat known mainly as an art historian for his volume of biographies of Genoese artists, published posthumously in 1674.
Biography
He was born to a senatorial family in Genoa, and himself served twi ...
as incomparable. The vain artist shared this view.
Work
Most of Assereto's works depict religious and history subjects, although he also produced some portraits. Throughout the decade in which he was a student, Assereto produced many works in a Baroque idiom, which were close in style and genre. He incorporated drama and emotion in his paintings with the aid of thechiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
and sfumato
Sfumato (, ) is a painting technique for softening the transition between colours, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane. It is one of the canonical painting modes of the Renaissance. Leonardo da V ...
techniques. He continued to improve his technique and style during his twenties and thirties. During his visit to Rome in 1639 he discovered a flourishing interest in realism and Caravaggism. His interest in realism and encouraged him to continue with his detailed description of heads and hands. It may also have revealed to him the possibilities of compositions that depend on chiaroscuro rather than on colour.
In 1640 Assereto painted ''The Lamentation'', a powerful picture which uses a black background and intense shadows to give dramatic effect to Christ's dead body that almost seems to shimmer in the darkness.Gioacchino Assereto, ''The Lamentation''
at Cummer Museum A work also showing this Caravaggist influence is the ''Death of Cato'' (Musei di Strada Nuova, Palazzo Bianco, Genoa), in which Assereto moved away from his refined style with vivid colours to a bolder, more powerful style where theatrical effects of flaming torches and candlelight emphasize violent emotions. The work also shows the influence of northern Caravaggesque painters such as
Gerrit van Honthorst
Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname ''Gherardo delle Notti' ...
and Matthias Stom
Matthias Stom or Matthias Stomer (c. 1600 – after 1652) was a Dutch, or possibly Flemish, painter who is only known for the works he produced during his residence in Italy. He was influenced by the work of non-Italian followers of Caravaggio in ...
.
In the 1640s he devoted himself to an in-depth study of the works of Rubens and Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
. As a result, his compositions became more lively and agitated. He also introduced a greater emotional involvement in his works through the use of lights and colours that reveal the knowledge of the Venetian school. His ''Ecce Homo'' (1640s), shows in the broad and phlegmatic figure of Christ the influence of the ''Ecce Homo'' painted by 
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
in Genoa circa 1625.at Sotheby's
Palazzo Bianco
Palazzo Bianco ( en, White Palace) is one of the main buildings of the center of Genoa, Italy. It is situated at 11, via Garibaldi (known at one time as ''Strada Nuova'', and before that, ''Via Aurea'').
It contains the Gallery of the White Pala ...
, Genoa).
Gioacchino Assereto was also active as a fresco painter. In the 1640s he painted frescoes for the Palazzo Granello and commissioned works for the Sant'Agostino church. Only fragments of these frescoes have been preserved.
Notes
Further reading
*Raffaele Soprani, "Le vite de pittori, scoltori et architetti genovesi", pp. 167–173, Genova, 1674. *Roberto Longhi, "L'Assereto", in "Dedalo", VII, p. 362, 1926. *Tiziana Zennaro, "Sull'attività giovanile di Gioacchino Assereto", in "Paragone", n. 549, Novembre 1995. *Camillo Manzitti, "Gioacchino Assereto: tangenze giovanili con Bernardo Strozzi e nuove testimonianze figurative", in "Paragone", n. 61, 2005.External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Assereto, Giocchino 1600 births 1649 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Genoa Italian Baroque painters