Count Pietro Ercole Fava (21 September 1669 – 7 June 1744) was a Bolognese nobleman, who distinguished himself not only as a

patron of art Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

, but also as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

. Fava was born at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= 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 150 different nat ...

in 1669. He studied art under L. Pasinelli, and was the protector and friend of

Donato Creti Donato Creti (24 February 1671 – 31 January 1749) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period, active mostly in Bologna. Born in Cremona, he moved to Bologna, where he was a pupil of Lorenzo Pasinelli. He is described by Wittkower as the "Bol ...

and Ercole Graziani. He chiefly studied the works of 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 Carra ...

, whose style he preferred to every other. In the church of San Tommaso dal Mercato at Bologna is an altar-piece by him of the ''Virgin and Infant, with St. Albert, St. Paul, and other Saints''; and at

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

, in the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, are the ''Adoration of the Magi,'' and the ''Resurrection.'' He was a member of the Clementine Academy.

References

* 1669 births 1744 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Nobility from Bologna 18th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-18thC-stub