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, known to be active in 1674.
Life
Born and died in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, she trained with Mario Nuzzi, and like him, painted
still life
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...
paintings of flowers. She worked in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
from 1622 to 1675. Little is known about her: she was a pupil of Mario Nuzzi, known as Mario de 'Fiori. Mario Nuzzi was a master of
Pier Francesco Cittadini
Pierfrancesco Cittadini (1616–1681) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna and noted for his portraits and lush still lifes.
Biography
Initially a pupil of Daniele Crespi, Cittadini moved to Bologna before the ...
and
Paolo Porpora
Paolo Porpora (1617–1673) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque, who was active mainly in Naples and specialized in floral still lifes. He is documented as a pupil of Giacomo Recco, the father of Giuseppe Recco, and said to have worked u ...
and painted in a style close to that of
Francesco Caldei
Francesco Caldei called Francesco Mantovano or Mantovani (1587/88 in Mantua – 22 May 1674 in Venice) was an Italian painter, mainly known as a still-life painter of flowers, fruits, animals and musical instruments.Gianluca Bocchi, ''Francesco Caldei detto Francesco Mantovano, un pittore lombardo fra Roma e Venezia Parma per l'Arte'' Nuova Serie, Anno XXI, 2015 Gianluca Bocchi From Nuzzi she learned to compose large bunches of multicolored flowers.
In ''L'Abecedario pittorico'' ('ABC of Painting') by the Bolognese writer and art historian
Pellegrino Antonio Orlandi
Pellegrino Antonio Orlandi (1660–1727) was an Italian writer and art historian, author of the ''Abecedario pittorico'' (‘ABC of Painting’).
Born in Bologna, Orlandi joined the city’s Carmelite convent of San Martino. Here he undertook res ...
Edito a Bologna nel 1704 da Costantino Pisarri nel 1704 e in seconda edizione nel 1718. we read: Laura Bernasconi, a Roman painter, she learned how to paint the flowers from Mario Nuzzi, and succeeded in perfection, she made the ornamentation of the painting ''St. Gaetano'', painted by
Andrea Camassei
Andrea Camassei (November 1602 – 1649) was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver mainly active in Rome under the patronage of the Barberini.
Biography
He was born in Bevagna in Umbria to parents of modest means, Angelina d' Anton Maria Ange ...
in St. Andrea della Valle. In the sacristy of this church, there is the altar with the altarpiece of ''San Gaetano'', portrayed in prayer among the Angels. The flowers that embellish the painting are executed by Laura Bernasconi.
Work
Laura Bernasconi painted, with Carlo Ruthard and her son Filippo, between 1665 and 1668, the ceiling of the Gallery in
Palazzo Colonna
The Palazzo Colonna () is a palatial block of buildings in central Rome, Italy, at the base of the Quirinal Hill, and adjacent to the church of Santi Apostoli. It is built in part over the ruins of an old Roman serapeum, and it has belonged to t ...
. Her works are in collections in Rome, including the
Galleria Doria Pamphilj
The Doria Pamphilj Gallery is a large art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, between Via del Corso and Via della Gatta. The principal entrance is on the Via del Corso (until recently, the entrance to the gallery was fr ...