Giovanni Sarnelli (23 June 1714 in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
– 1793 in Naples) was an
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 ...
painter of the late-
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 ...
style. He was one of at least four brothers: including
Antonio
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...
(died 1800),
Gennaro, and
Giuseppe
Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph,
from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף.
It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it.
The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...
, trained in the studio of
Paolo de Matteis
Paolo de Matteis (also known as ''Paolo de' Matteis''; 9 February 1662 – 26 January 1728) was an Italian painter.
Biography
He was born in Piano Vetrale, a hamlet of Orria, in the current Province of Salerno, and died in Naples. He trained wit ...
, and active painting mainly sacred subjects in
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
, Italy. Their father had been an army officer for the Royal administration. One of Giovanni's brothers, Ferdinando, was a secretary of the Banco di San Giacomo. The biographer
Bernardo De Dominici
Bernardo de' Dominici or Bernardo De Dominici (13 December 1683 – c. 1759) was an Italian art historian and painter of the late-Baroque period, active mainly in Naples. As a painter he was known for his landscapes, marine vedute and genre scene ...
mainly recalled Gennaro, but mentioned that Antonio and Giovanni, then still alive were excellent pupils of Matteis.
Antonio worked with Giovanni in frescoes for
Palazzo Partanna, now home to the Industrial Union of Naples. Giovanni also painted a ''Consecration of the Virgin'' (1766) for the church of Santa Anna at
Sessa Aurunca. He also painted ''Scenes of the Life of Beato Franco'' (1751), ''St Januarius and St Irene'' and ''St Gregory celebrates Mass'' (1774) for the church of
Santa Maria del Carmine. He painted a ''Conversion of St Paul'' for the church of the Padri della Missione ai Vergini, and a ''St Joseph and Child Jesus'' (1787) for the Archconfraternity of San Giuseppe dei Nudi in Naples.
Pittori Napoletani del Settecento
Chapter: ''I Sarnelli: una famiglia di pittori napoletani del Settecento'', by Achille della Ragione, Edizioni Napoli Arte, Naples (2010), page 10-11.
References
1714 births
1793 deaths
18th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
Painters from Naples
18th-century Italian male artists
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