![Spada - Concert 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Spada_-_Concert_02.jpg)
Leonello Spada (also called ''Lionello Spada'') (1576 – 17 May 1622) was an Italian painter of the
Baroque period, active in Rome and his native city of
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 ...
, where he became known as one of the followers of
Caravaggio.
Biography
He first apprenticed with painter
Cesare Baglioni. By the early 17th century, Spada was active, together with
Girolamo Curti
Girolamo Curti (1575–1632) was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque, specializing in quadratura.
Biography
He was also called ''il Dentone''. He was born to a poor family at Bologna, and worked for cloth spinner till age 25. His first formal ...
, as a member of a team specializing in decorative
quadratura
Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective ''di sotto in sù'' and ''quadratura'', is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, an ...
painting in Bologna. His early independent canvases reflect a mannerist style akin to the Flemish
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 ...
who resided in Bologna. In 1604 he made an unsuccessful bid for the commission to decorate the sacristy of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Loreto. By then he had already gravitated to the
Carracci The Carracci were a family of Italian artists. Notable members include:
* Agostino Carracci (1557–1602), Italian painter and printmaker
* Annibale Carracci (1560–1609), Italian Baroque painter and brother of Agostino Carracci
* Ludovico Carracc ...
Academy, having contributed to the decorations for the funeral of Agostino Carracci in 1603. His earliest surviving major painting, the altarpiece of the ''Virgin and Saints Dominic & Francis Interceding with Christ'' (1604), shows that he had modeled his style on that of
Ludovico Carracci
Ludovico (or Lodovico) Carracci (21 April 1555 – 13 November 1619) was an Italian, early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker born in Bologna. His works are characterized by a strong mood invoked by broad gestures and flickering light th ...
. He frequently collaborated with other students of Ludovico, especially
Francesco Brizio and remained in Bologna until 1607. Spada's figurative style gradually became more robust, as shown by the ''Miraculous Draught of Fishes'' (1607).
Among his pupils was
Pietro Martire Armanni.
Interaction with Caravaggio
Whether Spada either met or became an assistant of
Caravaggio, like
Manfredi, is unclear. The biographer
Malvasia
Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. ...
makes plain in his ''Felsina pittrice'' his distaste for Caravaggio, and apparently describes Spada and Caravaggio as equally "dissolute" and "precipitous"; and there are suggestions that for Caravaggio, Spada was a man "close to his heart", and perhaps not metaphorically.
Malvasia also tells the story of Spada posing for Caravaggio's ‘’Death of John the Baptist’’: afraid that Spada might flee and, that without a model the painting would be incomplete, Caravaggio imprisoned him in a room until he had finished. However, it is unclear if Spada ever physically encountered Caravaggio in Rome. Spada supposedly was 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 ...
after 1608-9, when Caravaggio had fled to
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Malvasia suggests the Spada followed Caravaggio to Malta. This is possible since Spada himself painted frescoes in the Magisterial palace of
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
in 1609-1610; but Caravaggio again had fled to Sicily by 1608, thus their overlap in Malta must have been short. The dark violence of a painting such as the ''Cain Killing Abel'' (
Museo di Capodimonte
Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italia ...
) and his derivative realism ''Musical Concert'' garnered him in Bologna, the maligning appellation of "scimmia del Caravaggio" (ape of Caravaggio).
[ Wittkower p94/ref>
But this, as much of Spada's output, may not reflect a gathered flame of inspiration but a pale reflection, a mimicry of the harsh passion, which when linked to his Carraci upbringing leads to a weakened pastiche. Leonello Spada is known to have made many copies of other painters.
He painted a large canvas for the ]Basilica of San Domenico
The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna, Italy. The remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers ( Dominicans), are buried inside the exquisite shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and hi ...
in Bologna, depicting ''St Dominic Burning the Books of the Heretics'', (1616). The Ghiara frescoes in Reggio Emilia are perhaps his masterpiece and demonstrate a return to Carraccian models. Other works of this fruitful period include the ''Return of the Prodigal Son'' and ''Aeneas and Anchises'' (both at Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
).
In 1617, he was commissioned by Duke Ranuccio I Farnese, to decorate the newly built Teatro Farnese
Teatro Farnese is a Renaissance theatre in the Palazzo della Pilotta, Parma, Italy. It was built in 1618 by Giovanni Battista Aleotti. The idea of creating this grand theater came from the Duke of Parma and Piacenza Ranuccio I Farnese. The thea ...
for Parma. His ‘’Mystic Marriage of St Catherine’ (1621; Parma, San Sepolcro) is a late painting.
Gallery
File:L Spada Eneas y Anquises 1615 Louvre.jpg, ''Aeneas and Anchises'', Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
File:L Spada Martirio de San Pedro Hermitage.jpg, ''Martyrdom of Saint Peter'', Hermitage
File:L Spada Regreso del hijo pródigo Museo del Louvre.jpg, ''Return of the Prodigal Son'', Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
File:Leonello Spada - St Jerome - WGA21652.jpg, ''St Jerome'', Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica or National Gallery of Ancient Art is an art museum in Rome, Italy. It is the principal national collection of older paintings in Rome – mostly from before 1800; it does not hold any antiquities. It has two ...
File:Spada-new-concerto.jpg, ''Concerto'', Galleria Borghese
The Galleria Borghese () is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays the Villa Borghese gardens are considered a separate touris ...
Partial anthology
*''Aeneas and Anchises'' (1615, Louvre)
*''Saint Jerome'' (attributed once to Giuseppe Ribera, 1618, Museo Arte Antica, Rome
*''Abraham and Melchizedek'
*''Return of Prodigal Son'' (after 1615, Louvre)
*''A Soldier'', (attributed 1600-1625, Philbrook Museum, Tulsa)
References
*
External links
Grove art encyclopedia entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spada, Leonello
1576 births
1622 deaths
16th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
17th-century Italian painters
Painters from Bologna
Italian Baroque painters
Caravaggisti
Catholic painters