Giovanni Battista Bertusio (also spelled Bertucci or Bertuzzi; 1577–1644) was a painter of the early- Baroque period, active 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 ...

. He trained initially under

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 ...

, then under

Ludovico Ludovico () is an Italian masculine given name. It is sometimes spelled Lodovico. The feminine equivalent is Ludovica. Persons with the name Ludovico Given name * Ludovico D'Aragona (1876–1961), Italian socialist politician * Ludovico Ariosto ...

and Agostino Carracci. He married the painter Antonia Pinelli.

Life and work

He was born in

on 20 May 1577: there is little information about his training and his career as an artist. His main biographer is

Carlo Cesare Malvasia Carlo Cesare Malvasia (1616–1693) was an Italian scholar and art historian from Bologna, best known for his biographies of Baroque artists titled ''Felsina pittrice'', published in 1678. Life and career Malvasia is the Bolognese equivalen ...

, who after telling that Bertusio was a pupil of

Denis 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 profo ...

, mentioned his training under Agostino Carracci. Bertusio also imitated the art of Guido Reni with unequal forces. The same source informs us that in 1602 he was instructed to read the funeral oration written by Faberio in the death of Agostino Carracci, for "a certain natural eloquence", a quality that certainly favors him in the teaching of painting. He had a reputation and fame with "all the knights of those times". All the paintings that can be referred to Bertusio are preserved in the churches of

; and among them are the two canvases on the side walls of the Belvisia chapel in St. Paolo Maggiore with ''the Birth of the Virgin'' and the ''Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple''. These canvases probably document his earliest activity. But his picture of greater commitment, probably performed around 1630, is the ''Resurrection of Christ'' in the church of St. Cristina, where the artist takes advantage of some remembrance of the small ''Resurrection'' of young Reni in St. Domenico, but where an incipient adherence to the style of Albani prevails in the figure of Christ. His other works, still in

, are: * ''The Death of St. Giuliana'' in St. Stefano; * ''St. Tommaso d'Aquino'' in St. Domenico; * ''Tobia and the Angel'' in St. Michele Arcangelo; * ''The Madonna del Rosario and Saints'' in St. Agnese; * An oval with ''St. Onofrio'' in the Oratory of

Santa Maria Maddalena The Santa Maria Maddalena is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, named after Saint Mary Magdalene. It is located on the Via della Maddalena, one of the streets leading from the Piazza della Rotonda in the Campo Marzio area of historic Rome. It is th ...

; * ''The Death of the Blessed Fasano'' in the Oratory of Santa Maria della Vita; * Various paintings within the stucco adornments in the chapel of the Compagnia dei Salaroli in Santa Maria della Pietà; * ''The Madonna and Child with St. Giovannino'' in the Pinacoteca of the church of Corpus Domini. Alongside these famous works,

remembered others in private houses and "in the countryside and in the villages". Giovanni Bertusio died in Bologna on 23 July 1644.

Notes

References

* 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Bologna Italian Baroque painters 1644 deaths Year of birth unknown 1577 births {{Italy-painter-17thC-stub