Jacopo Amigoni (ca. 1685 – September 1752), also named Giacomo Amiconi, was an Italian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

of the late- Baroque or

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

period, who began his career in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, but traveled and was prolific throughout Europe, where his sumptuous

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

s were much in demand.

Biography

He was born in

. Amigoni initially painted both mythological and religious scenes; but as the panoply of his patrons expanded northward, he began producing many parlour works depicting gods in sensuous languor or games. His style influenced

Giuseppe Nogari Giuseppe Nogari (1699 – 3 December 1766) was an Italian painter of the Rococo. He painted mainly painted half-body portraits, either real or of historical and religious figures. They are striking for their emotional content, subdued decoration ...

. Among his pupils were Charles Joseph Flipart, Michelangelo Morlaiter,

Pietro Antonio Novelli Pietro Antonio Novelli (1729–1804) was an Italian painter and engraver. Biography Novelli trained with the Venetian painter Jacopo Amigoni. In 1768, he was accepted as a member of the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. Novelli produced altar ...

, Joseph Wagner, and

Antonio Zucchi Antonio Pietro Francesco Zucchi (1 May 1726 – 1 December 1795) was an Italian painter and printmaker of the Neoclassic period. Life Zucchi was born in Venice, he studied under his uncle Carlo Zucchi and later Francesco Fontebasso and Jaco ...

. Starting in 1717, he is documented as working in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

in the Castle of Nymphenburg (1719); in the castle of Schleissheim (1725–1729); and in the Benedictine abbey of Ottobeuren. He returned to Venice in 1726. His ''Arraignment of Paris'' hangs in the Villa Pisani at Stra. From 1730 to 1739 he worked in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, in Pown House, Moor Park Wolterton Hall and in the theatre of Covent Garden. From there, he helped convince

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...

to travel to England by telling him of the ample patronage available. In London or during a trip to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in 1736, he met the celebrated

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due ...

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli ...

, whose portrait he painted twice in 1735 and again in 1752. Amigoni also encountered the painting of François Lemoyne and

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

. In 1739 he returned to Italy, perhaps to Naples and surely to Montecassino, in whose Abbey existed two canvases (destroyed during World War II). He travelled to Venice to paint for Sigismund Streit, for the

Casa Savoia The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

and other buildings of the city. In 1747 he left Italy for Madrid, encouraged by Farinelli, who held a court appointment there. He became

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

Ferdinand VI of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Savoy , birth_date = 23 September 1713 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Villav ...

and director of the Royal Academy of Saint Fernando. He painted a group portrait that included himself, Farinelli, Metastasio, Teresa Castellini, and an unidentified young man. The young man may have been the Austrian Archduke Joseph, the Habsburg heir to the throne. Amigoni died in Madrid. Amigoni was the father of the pastellist Caterina Amigoni Castellini, and the brother of the artist

Carlotta Amigoni Carlotta may refer to: People and fictional characters *Carlotta (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name *Carlotta (performer) (born 1943), Australian cabaret performer and TV personality *Mary Myers (1849–1932), Am ...

Partial anthology

''Consul Marcus Curius Dentatus prefers turnips to the Samnites' gifts''''Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach''Print after Amigoni of ''Princess Amelia Sophia Eleanora''Prints after portraits by Amigoni.''Venus and Adonis''

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amigoni, Jacopo 1682 births 1752 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Rococo painters Painters from Venice Court painters Painters from Naples Religious painters 18th-century Italian male artists