Mariano Rossi (7 December 1731 - 24 October 1807) was an Italian painter, persisting in what had become an anachronistic

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, ...

style amid an ascendant neoclassical environment. His placement legions of figures in a complex scenography and quadrature recalls the work of

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

Biography

Mariano was born to poor parents in

Sciacca Sciacca (; Greek language, Greek: ; Latin: Thermae Selinuntinae, Thermae Selinuntiae, Thermae, Aquae Labrodes and Aquae Labodes) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has vi ...

, Sicily. He trained first in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, then in Naples, and finally in Rome, where he studied under

Marco Benefial Marco Benefial (25 April 1684 – 9 April 1764) "Marco Benefial (Getty Museum)" (history), The Getty Museum, 2006, webpage: GM-Benefial. was an Italian, proto- Neoclassical painter, mainly active in Rome. Benefial is best known for h ...

. He was patronized by the ''illuminated charity of men of fashion'' (that is, wealthy individuals) He was paid 400 zecchini by the Cardinal Cardinal Bernis for a canvas depicting ''Joshua commanding Sun to stand still''. He painted for the churches of Purgatorio and Santa Lucia in

, Sicily. In 1766, he was called to paint frescoes for the royal court in Turin. He then returned to Rome, where he painted a fresco in the grand salon of the

Villa Borghese Villa Borghese or Villa Borghese Pinciana ('Borghese family{{!Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill') is the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio (and, after his death, finished by his assistant Giovanni Vasanzio), developing sketches by Scip ...

. During 1775-1779, he painted a large ceiling fresco depicting ''

Marcus Furius Camillus Marcus Furius Camillus (; c. 446 – 365 BC) was a Roman soldier and statesman of the patrician class. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of ''Second Founder ...

Fighting Brennus and his Gauls, while Romulus Entreats Jupiter to Help Rome''. The room displays some of the ancient Roman statuary, previously collected by Camillo Borghese. Other contemporary painters active in the Villa were Laurent Pecheux and Domenico de Angelis. Mariano joined the

Academy of St Luke 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 ...

in 1776. Moving to Campania, he painted a ''Marriage of Alexander the Great to Roxana''. He painted a ''Ovid writing

Ars Amatoria The ''Ars amatoria'' ( en, The Art of Love) is an instructional elegy series in three books by the ancient Roman poet Ovid. It was written in 2 AD. Background Book one of ''Ars amatoria'' was written to show a man how to find a woman. In book two ...

'' for Paul I, Tsar of Russia. The Napoleonic invasion of Rome caused him to leave for Sicily. There he painted a ''

Roger I Roger I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Roger I of Carcassonne (died 1012), Count of Carcassonne * Roger I of Tosny (), Norman noble * Roger I "de Berkeley" (died 1093), Norman noble, possibly the son of Roger I of Tosny - see Baron Ber ...

Liberating of Sicily from the Saracens'' for the

Palermo Cathedral Palermo Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo, located in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the pre ...

. With the Bourbon restoration in Naples, he briefly painted again at the

Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europe ...

. But moving back to Rome in 1804, he died. He was buried in the church of

Santa Susanna, Rome The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian ( it, Chiesa di Santa Susanna alle Terme di Diocleziano) is a Roman Catholic parish church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site ...

Other works

Mariano Rossi - Study of a Saint During a Plague - Google Art Project

Works by Rossi were made for: *''Pope Honorius'' for the

Santa Maria in Ara Coeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. I ...

, Rome *Paintings in

San Giuseppe alla Lungara San Giuseppe alla Lungara is a church of Rome (Italy), in the Rione Trastevere, facing on Via della Lungara. It was built under the papacy of Clement XII in 1734, after a design by Ludovico Rusconi Sassi; it underwent restoration works during th ...

, Rome *''Adoration of the Magi'' and ''Conversation of Peter and Paul''

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 ...

, Palazzo Barberini, RomeGalleria nazionale d'arte antica: Palazzo Barberini, i dipinti : catalogo
page 348. *Duomo of Palermo *San Benedetto, Palermo *''San Martino'' for PP. Cassinesi, Palermo *Sant'Agata, Catania *''Family of Darius before Alexander'', ''Cleopatra'', and a ''Holy Family'' for Marchese San Giacomo, Sciacca *''Sacrifice of Abraham'', ''Agar and Ishmael'', ''Moses'', and a ''Deposition'' for Baron Consiglio, Sciacca *''Landscape with Agar'', ''Joshua'', and ''Alexander'' for Signor Rosa, Sciacca *''Alexander the Great's marriage with Roxana'',

Royal Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as Kingdom of Naples, kings of Naples. It is the largest palace ...

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Camp ...

Sources

Nuova enciclopedia italiana
6th Edition by Gerolamo Boccardo (1885), page 721. quoting Giuseppe Vento, Elogio biografico di Mariano Bossi (Palermo 1864).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Mariano 1731 births 1807 deaths People from Sciacca 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters Italian neoclassical painters Painters from Palermo 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists