Ludovico Stern (October 5, 1709- December 25, 1777) was an Italian painter of the

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, ...

or late-Baroque period, active 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 ...

. He is known for both large sacred and history paintings, as well as still lives, and portraits.

Biography

Stern was born in

to a Bavarian painter, Ignazio Stern, (Mariahilf 1680 – Roma 1748), who had moved to Italy around the year 1700. Ignazio had received work and training in the studio of

Carlo Cignani Carlo Cignani (15 May 1628 – 8 September 1719) was an Italian painter. His innovative style referred to as his 'new manner' introduced a reflective, intimate mood of painting and presaged the later pictures of Guido Reni and Guercino, as well ...

in Rome. Ignazio had a two sons and two daughters, and all were also allied to the arts. His elder son, of the same name (died 1775) painted still-lives and portraits; a daughter Veronica was a portrait miniaturist, while Maddalena married the French painter Claude Vernet. Stern initially trained with his father, but als studied later in the Academy of Parma and

St Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...

in Rome. In 1741, he was inducted into the Congregazione dei Virtuosi del Pantheon, and served as regent from 1755 to 1756. In the latter year, he became an academic of merit at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

. Among his works are two canvases depicting the ''Extasis'' and ''Meditation of San Carlo Borromeo'' for the chapel of the said saint in

Santa Prassede The Basilica of Saint Praxedes ( la, Basilica Sanctae Praxedis, it, Basilica di Santa Prassede all’Esquillino), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilic ...

in Rome. He painted a series of religious canvases for the church of San Giovanni Evangelista in

Guidonia Montecelio Guidonia Montecelio (), commonly known as Guidonia, is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio, central Italy. Geography The municipality of Guidonia Montecelio, formed by the main towns of Guidonia and Montecelio, l ...

. He painted a ''San Francesco Caracciolo'' (1752) for

San Lorenzo in Lucina The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina ( it, Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Lucina or simply it, San Lorenzo in Lucina; la, S. Laurentii in Lucina) is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome, Italy. ...

, and a ''Saints Peter and Paul'' (1757) for the church of Santi Michele e Magno, and a ''Vision of St Lawrence of Brindisi'' (1756), now in the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia. He also painted a room in the

Palazzo Borghese Palazzo Borghese is a palace in Rome, Italy, the main seat of the Borghese family. It was nicknamed ''il Cembalo'' ("the harpsichord") due to its unusual trapezoidal groundplan; its narrowest facade faces the River Tiber. The entrance at the oppos ...

in Rome, now titled the ''Stanza della Quattro Parti del Mondo'' (Room of the Four Parts of the World), with a cycle of paintings depicting Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and ''Juno and Iris''. Stern was also in great demand for his portraits. Among his ten children, Vicenzo and Martino were painters, while Giovanni was an architect. Giovanni's son,

Raffaele Stern Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) was an Italian architect. Born in 1774 in Rome to Giovanni Stern, an architect. Raffaele was also the grandson of the Baroque painter, born and active in Rome, Ludovico Stern. He was educated in Winckelmann's classi ...

(1774-1820) was a prominent neoclassical architect in Rome. Two of Raffele's nephews were also architects.Palazzo Chigi, Ariccia
monograph by Francesco Petrucci on painting of ''Judith and Holofernes''.

Notes

A monograph on the painter was completed by Francesco Petrucci and Duccio K. Marignoli: ''Ludovico Stern (1709-1777): pittura rococò a Roma'' (Andreina & Valneo Budai, publishers) 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Ludovico 1709 births 1777 deaths 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Baroque painters Painters from Rome Italian people of German descent 18th-century Italian male artists