Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian

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 ...

painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

and

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino

, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

. He was also an important designer of interior decorations. He was born Pietro Berrettini, but is primarily known by the name of his native town of

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan 𐌂𐌖𐌓� ...

in Tuscany. He worked mainly in Rome and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. He is best known for his frescoed ceilings such as the vault of the ''salone'' or main salon of the

Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini ( en, Barberini Palace) is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History T ...

in Rome and carried out extensive painting and decorative schemes for the

Medici family The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

in Florence and for the Oratorian fathers at the church of

Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians, ...

in Rome. He also painted numerous canvases. Only a limited number of his architectural projects were built but nonetheless they are as distinctive and as inventive as those of his rivals.

Biography

Early career

Berrettini was born into a family of artisans and masons, in

, then a town in the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...

. He trained in painting in Florence under

Andrea Commodi Andrea Commodi (1560–1638) was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period. Born in Florence, but mostly active in Rome, he was a pupil of the painter Cigoli. He painted frescoes in the sacristy of San Carlo ai Catinari and a ''Fall of the Ang ...

, but soon he departed for Rome at around 1612/3, where he joined the studio of

Baccio Ciarpi Baccio Ciarpi (1574–1654) was an Italian painter of the late- Mannerism and early- Baroque style. Born in Barga in Tuscany, he was active in Rome and Florence. He is best known for having mentored briefly Pietro da Cortona. He painted a number o ...

. He was involved in fresco decorations at the

Palazzo Mattei A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

in 1622-3 under the direction of Agostino Ciampelli and Cardinal Orsini had commissioned from him an ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' (c. 1626) for

San Salvatore in Lauro San Salvatore in Lauro is a Catholic church in central Rome, Italy. It is located on a piazza of the same name in the rione Ponte. It stands on Via Vecchiarelli, just south of the Lungotevere Tor di Nona and north of via dei Coronari. Within Rom ...

Pietro da Cortona - Rape of the Sabines - Google Art Project

In Rome, he had encouragement from many prominent patrons. According to Cortona's biographers his gifted copy of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

's ''Galatea'' fresco brought him to the attention of , papal treasurer during the

Barberini The House of Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban palace ...

papacy. Such contacts helped him gain an early major commission in Rome (1624–1626), a fresco decoration in the church of

Santa Bibiana Santa Bibiana is a small Baroque style, Roman Catholic church in Rome devoted to Saint Bibiana. The church façade was designed and built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who also produced a sculpture of the saint holding the palm leaf of martyrs. Hist ...

that was being renovated under the direction of

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

. In 1626, the Sacchetti family engaged Cortona to paint three large canvases of ''The Sacrifice of Polyxena'', ''The Triumph of Bacchus'', and ''The Rape of the Sabines'' (the latter, c. 1629), and to paint a series of frescoes in the

Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano The Villa Sacchetti is a historical building at Castelfusano, near Ostia Antica, Rome, Italy. It was built in 1624-1629 for the Sacchetti family, close associates of Pope Urban VIII, and was the first architectural work of Pietro da Cortona. The ...

, near Ostia, using a team that included the young

Andrea Sacchi Andrea Sacchi (30 November 159921 June 1661) was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors ...

. In the Sacchetti orbit, he met

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

and Cardinal Francesco Barberini, the papal nephew, and their patronage of Cortona provided him with ample scope to demonstrate his abilities as a painter of frescoes and canvases.

Grand Salon of Palazzo Barberini

Fresco cycles were numerous in Cortona's Rome; many represented "quadri riportati" or painted framed episodes imitating canvases as found in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

ceiling or in

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 ...

's ''

The Loves of the Gods ''The Loves of the Gods'' is a monumental fresco cycle, completed by the Bolognese artist Annibale Carracci and his studio, in the Farnese Gallery which is located in the west wing of the Palazzo Farnese, now the French Embassy, in Rome. The f ...

'' in the Farnese gallery (completed 1601). In 1633,

(Maffeo Barberini) commissioned from Cortona a large fresco painting for the main salon ceiling of the

family palace; the

. It was completed six years later, following Cortona's influential visit to northern Italy where he would have seen at first hand perspectival works by

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...

and the colour palette of

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

. Cortona's huge '' Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power'' marks a watershed in Baroque painting. Following the architecture of the room, he created the painted

illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may o ...

of an open airy architectural framework against which figures are situated, usually seen 'al di

sotto in su 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 ...

' apparently coming into the room itself or floating far above it. The ornamented architectural framework essentially forms five compartments. The central and most significant part celebrates the glorification of the reign of Urban VIII in a light filled scene populated with allegorical figures and Barberini family emblems. The illusion of spatial extension through paint, the grandiose theme and the skill of execution could only astonish and impress the visitor. However, Cortona's panegyric

trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

extravaganzas may be less popular in a world familiar with minimalism and such like, yet they are precursors of the sunny figures and cherubim infested with

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, ...

excesses. They contrast markedly with the darker naturalism prominent in

Caravaggisti The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never establish ...

works and with the classicising compositions by painters such as

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoem ...

and

, and remind us that Baroque painting could be grand in an epic manner and exuberant in spirit.

Frescoes in Palazzo Pitti

Cortona had been patronized by the Tuscan community in Rome, hence it was not surprising when he was passing through

in 1637, that he should be asked by Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici to paint a series of frescoes intended to represent Ovid's ''Four

Ages of Man The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to progress from an origina ...

'' in the small Sala della Stufa, a room in the

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

. The first two frescoes represented the "ages" of gold and silver. In 1641, he was recalled to paint the 'Bronze Age' and 'Iron Age' frescoes. It is said he was guided in the formulation of the allegorical designs by

Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger Michelangelo Buonarroti il Giovane (baptized 4 November 1568 – 11 January 1646) was a Florentine poet, librettist and man of letters, known as "the Younger" to distinguish him from his granduncle. Education From 1588 to 1591 he studied mat ...

. He thus began work on the decoration of the grand-ducal reception rooms on the first floor of the Palazzo Pitti, now part of the Palatine Gallery. In these five Planetary Rooms, the hierarchical sequence of the deities is based on Ptolomeic cosmology; Venus, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter (the Medici Throne room) and Saturn, but minus Mercury and the Moon which should have come before Venus. These highly ornate ceilings with frescoes and elaborate stucco work essentially celebrate the Medici lineage and the bestowal of virtuous leadership. Pietro left Florence in 1647 to return to Rome, and his pupil and collaborator,

Ciro Ferri Ciro Ferri (1634 – 13 September 1689) was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona. He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresc ...

, was left to complete the cycle by the 1660s.

Late works

Cortona Romulus and Remus Given Shelter by Faustulus 01

For a number of years, Cortona was involved for decades in the decoration of the ceiling frescoes in the Oratorian Chiesa Nuova (

) in Rome, a work not finished until 1665. Other frescoes are in

Palazzo Pamphilj :''See also Palazzo Doria Pamphilj Palazzo Pamphilj, also spelled Palazzo Pamphili, is a palace facing onto the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy. It was built between 1644 and 1650. Since 1920, the palace has housed the Brazilian Embassy in Italy. I ...

in Piazza Navona (1651–4). In 1660, he executed ''The Stoning of Saint Stephen'' for the church of San Ambrogio della Massima in Rome. The work currently hangs in the Hermitage. Towards the end of his life he devoted much of his time to

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, but he published a treatise on painting in 1652 under a pseudonym and in collaboration. He refused invitations to both France and Spain.

Debate with Andrea Sacchi

He was elected as director of 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 ...

the painter's guild in Rome, in 1634. It was at the Academy in 1636 that Cortona and

were involved in theoretical controversies regarding the number of figures that were appropriate in a painted work. Sacchi argued for few figures, since he felt it was not possible to grant meaningful individuality, a distinct role, to more than a few figures per scene. Cortona, on the other hand, lobbied for an art that could accommodate many subplots to a central concept. He also likely viewed the possibility of using many human figures in decorative detail or to represent a general concept. Within the context of this debate, the french painter Nicolas Poussin is known to have laughed at this discussion around fixed numbers. Others have seen in this dichotomy, the long-standing debate whether visual art is about theoretical principles and meant to narrate a full story, or a painterly decorative endeavor, meant to delight the senses. Cortona was a director of the Accademia from 1634 to 1638. Cortona also contributed to a treatise in Florence along with the theologian and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Giandomenico Ottonelli titled: ''Trattato della pittura e scultura, uso et abuso loro: composto da un theologo ed da un pittore'' (Stamperia, Giovanni Antonio Bonardi, Florence, 1652). Authorship in subsequent editions is attributed to Cortona.

Pupils

Cortona employed or trained many prominent artists, who then disseminated his grand manner style. Apart from

, others that worked in his studio included: Romanelli and Camassei also trained under Domenichino. Giovanni Maria Bottala was one of his assistants on the Barberini Ceiling. Sources for (W); while sources for (H). Source for MB is ''Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical'' (Volume II L-Z).

Architectural projects

Among Cortona's more important architectural projects are the church of

Santi Luca e Martina Santi Luca e Martina is a church in Rome, Italy, situated between the Roman Forum and the Forum of Caesar and close to the Arch of Septimus Severus. History The church was initially dedicated to Saint Martina, martyred in 228 AD during the reign ...

(completed in 1664, the church of 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 ...

, located in the

Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...

. While Cortona was ''principe'' or director of the Accademia from 1634–38, he obtained permission to dig in the crypt of the church, which led the likely mistaken finding of remains attributed to the first century Roman martyr and Saint Martina. This discovery led to further patronage for construction of the church. The layout is almost a Greek cross, with four nearly identical wings extending from the striking central dome. Much of the ground structure is undecorated, above intricately decorated. The overwhelmingly vertical decoration of the facade is granted liveliness by horizontal convexity. In his will, this bachelor called this church his ''beloved daughter''. He also renovated the exterior renewal of the ancient

Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte. History The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482 ...

(1656–1667), and the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

(with an unusual

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

) of

Santa Maria in Via Lata Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso. It is the Station days for Tuesday, the fifth week of lent. History The first Christi ...

(appr. 1660). Another influential work for its day was the design and decoration of the Villa Pigneto commissioned by the Marchese Sacchetti. This garden palace or casino gathered a variety of features in a novel fashion, including a garden facade with convex arms, and highly decorated niches, and elaborate tiered staircases surrounding a fountain.

Anatomical plates

Prior to becoming famous as an architect, Pietro drew anatomical plates that would not be engraved and published until a hundred years after his death. The plates in ''Tabulae anatomicae'' are now thought to have been started around 1618. The dramatic and highly studied poses effected by the figures are in keeping with the style of other Renaissance Baroque anatomical artists, although nowhere does such an approach find any fuller expression than in these plates.

Gallery

File:Cortona Pietà 01.jpg, ''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

'' File:Cortona Virgin and Child with Saints 01.jpg, ''Virgin and Child with Saints'' File:Pietro da cortona, martirio di san lorenzo.jpg, ''Martyrdom of St Lawrence'' File:Ananias restoring the sight of st paul (34663925).jpg, ''Ananias restores sight to St Paul'' File:Pietro da Cortona 001.jpg, ''Return of Hagar'' File:Cortona Guardian Angel 01.jpg, ''Guardian Angel'' File:Pietro da Cortona - Il martirio di Santo Stefano.jpg, ''Stoning of St Stephen'' File:Cortona Venus as Huntress Appears to Aeneas 01.jpg, ''Venus as Huntress Appears to Aeneas''

Notes

References

*Connors, Joseph (1982). "Cortona, Pietro Berrettini da" ''Placzek'' 1982; vol. 1, pp. 455–466. * * * *Merz, Jörg Martin (2008). ''Pietro da Cortona and Roman Baroque Architecture''. New Haven; London: Yale University Press. . *Placzek, Adolf K., editor (1982). ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects''. London: Macmillan. . *

External links

''Tabulae anatomicae''
*Pietro da Cortona,
A Design for a Quarantore
at

San Lorenzo in Damaso The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damaso (Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Damaso) or simply San Lorenzo in Damaso is a parish and titular church in central Rome, Italy that is dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. It is incorporated ...

'', c.1632 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortona, Pietro Da Pietro da Cortona Italian Baroque architects Italian Baroque painters Italian interior designers 1596 births 1669 deaths Architects from Lazio Painters from Rome People from Cortona Italian male painters 17th-century Italian architects 17th-century Italian painters Architects of Roman Catholic churches Catholic painters