Girolamo Romani, known as Romanino (c. 1485 - c. 1566), was an
Italian High Renaissance
In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
painter active in the
Veneto and
Lombardy
(man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman)
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, near
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...
. His long career brought forth several different styles.
Biography
Romani was born in
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...
. His early training and life are not well documented.
A
Quattrocento-esque ''Pietà'', painted for the church of ''San Lorenzo'' of Brescia, dated from 1510, is exhibited in the
Accademia. He took up residence in Venice in his twenties, at the latest by 1513. He was commissioned to complete a ''Madonna enthroned with four saints'' for the church of Santa Giustina in
Padua in 1513. The coloration of the painting is of Venetian style, but the duller visages in bejeweled setting recalls styles of previous generations. He completed series of frescoes for
Niccolò Orsini's Palace in
Ghedi and
an altarpiece for
San Francesco, Brescia
San Francesco is a Romanesque-Gothic style, Roman Catholic church and Franciscan monastery located on Via San Francesco d'Assisi in central Brescia, region of Lombardy, Italy.
History
The Franciscan order arrived in Brescia around 1220, after ...
.
Romanino completed four frescoes in the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...
of the
cathedral of Cremona in 1519-1520 depicting stories of the ''Passion of Christ''. His paintings have eclectic influences using Venetian coloration with Florentine-Lombard modeling. In the Cremona frescoes, the Lombard influence of
Altobello Melone is strong, in the narrative and decorative elements of the fresco. By 1521, Romanino was replaced by
Il Pordenone in the decoration of the church.
He then returned to
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Ise ...
to work (1521–1524) with
Alessandro Bonvicino in the decoration of the "Cappella del Sacramento" in ''San Giovanni Evangelista''.
His ''St. Matthew and the Angel'' depicts the apostle at work under candlelight, and represents one of the first such nocturnes in Italian painting, a device which
Correggio and
Cambiaso Cambiaso is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adolfo Cambiaso (born 1975), Argentine polo player
* Andrea Cambiaso (born 2000), Italian football player
* Luigi Cambiaso (1895–1975), Italian gymnast
* Luca Cambiaso ( ...
would soon pursue. He also helped decorate the
Palazzo Averoldi
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
. A series of frescoes in the
Castle of Malpaga, near
Bergamo (1520-1530s), celebrating the life of
Bartolomeo Colleoni, is attributed to him.
In 1531 to 1532, he worked with
Dosso Dossi in fresco decoration of
Castello del Buoncosiglio in
Trento. He completed organ shutters for the church of
Asola on ''Augustus and the sibyl'', and ''Sacrifice of Isaac''. Around 1545 he produced ''
The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee '' The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee'' may refer to:
* ''The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee'' (Romanino), a c. 1545 oil on canvas painting, in Brescia
* ''The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee'' (Rubens), a c. 1618–1620 ...
'', still in Brescia. He died between 1559 and 1561. His main pupils were his son-in-law
Lattanzio Gambara
Lattanzio Gambara (c. 1530 – 18 March 1574) was an Italian painter, active in Renaissance and Mannerist styles. It is likely that Gambara is the same 16th century painter referred to as ''Lattanzio Cremonese'' or ''Lattanzio da Cremona''.
Biog ...
,
Girolamo Muziano, and
Stefano Rosa
Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ach ...
. He is also known to have influenced artists such as
Giulio Campi
Giulio Campi (1502 – 5 March 1572) was an Italian painter and architect. His brothers Vincenzo Campi and Antonio Campi were also renowned painters.
Biography
The eldest of a family prominent painters, Campi was born at Cremona. His father Gale ...
.
Stolen painting
Shortly after the
1940 Nazi invasion of France, Romanino's painting ''Christ Carrying the Cross'' was stolen from the household of Frederico Gentili di Giuseppe, an Italian Jew. In 2012, it was discovered among items lent to an American museum from an Italian museum. Through the help of an anonymous tip,
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...
and the
United States Department of Homeland Security, it was eventually returned to Gentili's heirs. Presently it is insured for
US$2.5 million.
"474-year-old painting stolen by Nazis given to owner's heirs"
from MSNBC
References
Sources
*
External links
Painters of reality: the legacy of Leonardo and Caravaggio in Lombardy
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Romani (see index)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romani, Girolamo
1480s births
1560s deaths
15th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
16th-century Italian painters
Italian Renaissance painters
Painters from Brescia