Sebastiano Conca (8 January 1680 – 1 September 1764) was an Italian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Biography

He was born at

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

, then part of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, and apprenticed in Naples under

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of ...

. In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, who acted as his assistant, he settled 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 ...

, where for several years he worked only in chalk, to improve his drawing. He was patronized by the

Cardinal Ottoboni Pietro Ottoboni (2 July 1667 – 28 February 1740) was an Italian cardinal and grandnephew of Pope Alexander VIII, who was also born Pietro Ottoboni. He is remembered especially as a great patron of music and art. Ottoboni was the last person to h ...

, who introduced him to

Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

, who commissioned him a well-received ''Jeremiah'' painted for the church of

St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

. He also painted an ''Assunta'' for 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 ...

in Rome. Conca was knighted by the pope. He collaborated with

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition ...

in the ''Coronation of Santa Cecilia'' (1721–24) in the namesake church of

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th-century church in Rome, Italy, in the Trastevere rione, devoted to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia (early 3rd century AD). History The first church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd century, by Pop ...

. In 1718 he was elected to 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 ...

, and was its director in 1729–1731, replacing

Camillo Rusconi Camillo Rusconi (14 July 1658 – 8 December 1728) was an Italian sculptor of the late Baroque in Rome. His style displays both features of Baroque and Neoclassicism. He has been described as a Carlo Maratta in marble. Biography Initially trained ...

as ''Principe'' in 1732. He was also elected Principe in 1739–1741. His painting was strongly influenced by the

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

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Ear ...

. Among Conca's pupils there were

Pompeo Battoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

Andrea Casali Andrea Casali (17 November 1705 – 7 September 1784) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. He was also an art dealer in England. ''Angelica e Medoro'', Bemberg Fondation Toulouse He was born in Civitavecchia in the Papal States and stu ...

, Placido Campoli,

Corrado Giaquinto Corrado Giaquinto (8 February 1703 – 18 April 1766) was an Italian Rococo painter. Early training and move to Rome He was born in Molfetta. As a boy he apprenticed with a modest local painter Saverio Porta, (c1667–1725), escaping the rel ...

, Gregorio Giusti,

Gaetano Lapis Gaetano Lapis (1704 – 1 April 1776) was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque period. Biography He was born in Cagli and trained under Sebastiano Conca. He painted a ''Birth of Venus'' for the ceiling of the Palazzo Borghese Palazzo B ...

, Salvatore Monosilio, Litterio Paladini, Francesco Preziao,

Rosalba Maria Salvioni Rosalba is a feminine personal name, derived from the Latin '' rosa alba'', the white rose. Although known in English, the name is especially associated with Italy, and is also common in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, where it is also ...

Gasparo Serenari Gasparo Serenari (active 1760) was an Italian painter of the 18th century, active in Rome and his native Palermo. Biography He was a pupil of Sebastiano Conca in Rome. He painted altarpieces for the churches of Santa Maria in Trivio and Santa Mar ...

Agostino Masucci Agostino Masucci (; c. 1691 – 19 October 1758) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period. Biography Born in Rome, he initially apprenticed with Andrea Procaccino, and then became a member of the studio of Carlo Maratta. He j ...

Domenico Giomi Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...

, and the Bavarian religious painter

Franz Georg Hermann Franz Georg Hermann (29 December 1692, Kempten - 25 November 1768, Kempten) was a German painter in the Baroque style. Life and work His first studies were with his father, the court painter, . Then, at the age of fifteen, the Benedictines awa ...

. Sebastiano's brother, Giovanni Conca (died in 1764), painted the main altarpiece of the ''Madonna of the Rosary and St Dominic'' for the church of San Domenico, Urbino. He received widespread official acclaim and patronage. He worked for a period of time for the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

family in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

on the Oratory of San Filippo and Santa Teresa, in the Venaria (1721–1725), for

Basilica di Superga The Basilica of Superga () is a church in Superga, in the vicinity of Turin. History It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, designed by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga. This fulfilled a vow the duke (and ...

(1726), and Royal Palace (1733). He painted the frescoes of ''Probatica'' (Pool of Siloam), in the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala (hospital) of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. In

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, he painted the large allegorical canvases of the Palazzo Lomellini-Doria (1738–1740). In 1739, he published a guide to painting: ''Ammonimenti'' (or Admonishments), which blended moralistic advice with technique. He returned to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1752, and enjoyed the royal patronage of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

. His studio was prodigious and he painted frescoes for the Church of Santa Chiara (1752–1754), five canvases for the Chapel in

Caserta Palace 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 ...

(now lost), as well as many others including for the Benedictines of

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical bu ...

(1761), a ''History of Saint Francis of Paola'' for the Sanctuary of Saint Maria di Pozzano of

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

(1762–1763), and many other altarpieces. He painted till late in life. Among the works that reflect his late-

style there are paintings such as ''The Vision of Aeneas in the Elysian Fields'' (c. 1735/1740); the scene is crowded with mythologic and classical figures, adrift in academic quotation, and enveloped by a world of overwrought with allegory. Dancing or flying putti proliferate. The landscape is often a billowing cloud. Even in a more intimate scene such as ''Rinaldo & Armida'', instead of depicting the focused scene between two lovers, love itself has to be allegorized as an intruding, hovering cupid. Similarly, the somber introspection of the moment recounted by ''Christ at the Garden of Gesthmane'' is afflicted with a cascade of angels. Christ at the Garden of Gesthemane
at Vactican pinacoteca. It is a

mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

Baroque, not its distilled apotheosis, but a distanced elaboration from its roots 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 ...

and

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� ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conca, Sebastiano 1679 births 1764 deaths People from Gaeta 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Painters from Naples Italian Baroque painters Fresco painters Catholic painters 18th-century Italian male artists