Simone Cantarini or Simone da Pesaro, called ''il Pesarese'' (Baptized on 21 August 1612 – 15 October 1648) 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 ...
and
etcher
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
. He is mainly known for his
history painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
s and portraits executed in an original style, which united aspects of
Bolognese classicism with a bold naturalism.
Cantarini was also a gifted etcher who achieved extraordinary delicacy and a vibrant and luminous quality in his graphic work.
[Marina Garofoli. "Cantarini, Simone." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 12 June 2016]
Life
Cantarini was born in
Pesaro
Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...
, now a town in the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
region of
the Marche, then part of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
and ruled by the
Della Rovere
The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a noble family
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estat ...
. He was baptized on 21 August 1612. His father Girolamo was a prominent merchant and the family was well-off.
[Mario Mancigotti, ''Il Pesarese ed i suoi capolavori. Simone Cantarini 1612-1648'', Walter Staffogia Editore, September 2006 ]
![Simone Cantarini - The risen Christ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Simone_Cantarini_-_The_risen_Christ.jpg)
There is no documentary information on Cantarini's early training. Initially he may have been a pupil of
Giovanni Giacomo Pandolfi
Giovanni Giacomo Pandolfi (1567–1636) was an Italian painter, who was born and lived in Pesaro.
Biography
He was likely the son of the painter Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi, also from Pesaro, who had married the sister of the painter Girolamo ...
. A religious person from a church in Pesaro who supported Cantarini's artistic career accompanied the young artist on a trip to Venice. In Venice he could take advantage of the guidance of the Venetian late-Mannerist painter
Sante Peranda
Sante Peranda (1566–1638) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period.
He was a pupil of the painter Leonardo Corona and later Palma il Giovane. Also known as ''Santo Peranda''. He painted a ''Descent from the cross'' for San Procol ...
and learned drawing skills from
Francesco Mingucci, a fellow citizen of Pesaro residing in Venice.
[ He returned to Pesaro. He received his first commissions from the ]Augustinian order
Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...
in Pesaro and nearby Fano
Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by popula ...
. His first commissions included the painting ''Saint Rita of Cascia'', now in the Saint Augustine Church of Pesaro, and ''The Immaculate Conception with Saints'' (Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the ...
).
It is assumed that Cantarini became a pupil of Claudio Ridolfi
Claudio Ridolfi (1560–1644), also known as Claudio Veronese, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period.
Biography
Ridolfi was born in Verona to a noble family. He was active mainly in Rome and Urbino where he was a pupil of the p ...
although the precise timing of the training is not known.[ Ridolfi would have passed on to him the Venetian style and a strong appreciation for the work of ]Federico Barocci
Federico Barocci (also written ''Barozzi'')(c. 1535 in Urbino – 1612 in Urbino) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly esteemed and inf ...
, a collaborator of Ridolfi in Urbino. After Ridolfi left Pesaro in 1629 Cantarini was left without a teacher and was thus compelled to pursue his artistic training on his own.[Cantarini, Simone]
at the National Gallery of Art
As he was not tutored by a single master in his early years, Simone Cantarini was mostly self-taught and he absorbed the styles of other painters by making copies or sketches after their works. The prints by 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 Carracc ...
together with the work of Federico Barocci were important influences on the young artist. He further drew inspiration from the caravaggesque art of Orazio Gentileschi
Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After ...
, who worked in the Marche region during the 1610s, and of Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri
Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri (1589–1655) was an Italian painter and Caravaggisto.
Guerrieri was born in Fossombrone. In 1606 he travelled to Rome where he studied under some notable artists including Orazio Gentileschi
Orazio Lomi Gentile ...
from nearby Fossombrone
Fossombrone is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy.
History
The ancient Roman colony of ''Forum Sempronii'' took its name from Gaius Sempronius Gracchus.
Near the Furlo Pass, during the Gothic War ...
.[
]
Guido Reni
Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious ...
was one of the painters whose work was present in various churches in the vicinity of Pesaro and Reni's mature style had an important influence on the young Cantarini. In particular, Catarini studied Guido Reni's ''Madonna and Child with Saints Thomas and Jerome'' that hung at the time in Pesaro Cathedral (now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana
The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...
), and the ''Giving of the Keys to Saint Peter'' (1626, now in the Louvre, Paris) and the ''Annunciation'' (1620–21) that were in the church of San Pietro in Valle in nearby Fano. Cantarini started to receive commissions and one of his earliest masterpieces was the ''St Peter Healing the Lame Man'', which was also placed in the church of San Pietro in Valle in Fano. This work reveals Reni's important influence.[
Presumably around 1634 Cantarini joined Reni's studio, which was located in the via delle Pescherie near the piazza Maggiore in the old city centre of Bologna. Reni's studio was a form of boarding school and artist's studio. Reni considered Cantarini an experienced artist as he was soon allowed to stay on the principal floor of the house, which was reserved for Reni's more valued followers.][Mario Mancigotti, ''A Pesaro il ritratto di Guido Reni dipinto da Simone Cantarini'']
Here he proved to be a student who had problems connecting with the other students and failed to attend classes such as the nude class, which brought him in conflict with the teacher of that class. During his stay in Reni' s studio Cantarini learned to etch and became very skilled in that technique.[
]
Contemporary biographers describe a gradually deteriorating relationship between the master and pupil. The reasons for this are not entirely clear but have been attributed to Cantarini's inability to submit to the discipline of Reni's school and the fact that works of the pupil were sold with the signature of the master to increase their price. Cantarini further refused to engrave Guido's designs on the ground that his own works were as much worthy of publication. It is also possible that the pupil who had discovered the earlier masterpieces of Reni in the churches near his hometown was less impressed with the late style of Reni, which tended increasingly towards metaphysical visions populated with bloodless images. According to some stories the uneasy relationship between the two artists came to an explosive halt when Reni criticized a work of Cantarini in front of other students upon which Cantarini threw the painting against the wall.[ The break with Reni lead to a drought in new commissions, which forced Cantarini to leave Bologna.][
]
Cantarini is recorded back in his native Pesaro in 1639. He is said to have had a relationship with a local young woman with whom he had extramarital children.[
He made a brief trip to Rome in 1640 or 1641. After Reni's death in 1642, Cantarini returned to Bologna. Here he opened his own studio in the Palazzo Zambeccari, where he trained local artists such as ]Lorenzo Pasinelli
Lorenzo Pasinelli (September 4, 1629 – March 4, 1700) was an Italian painter active mainly in Bologna during the late Baroque period.
He was born in Bologna, and initially trained in the studio of Simone Cantarini. He then pursued studies in R ...
, Flaminio Torre
Flaminio Torre (1620–1661) was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School, active during the Baroque period.
He was a pupil of Guido Reni, Giacomo Cavedone, and Simone Cantarini. He was also called ''Degli Ancinelli'', and painted ...
, Giulio Cesare Milani
Giulio Cesare Milani (c. 1621–1678) was an Italian painter of the Baroque.
He was born in Bologna, where he was a pupil of Simone Cantarini and Flaminio Torre. He painted a ''Marriage of the Virgin
The Marriage of the Virgin is the subject ...
, Giovanni Peruzzini
Giovanni Peruzzini (1629–1694) was an Italian painter of the Baroque.
His father, Domenico Peruzzini was also a painter. Giovanni was born in Ancona, and became a pupil of Simone Cantarini. In Ancona, he painted a ''Beheading of St. John'' for ...
, Giovanni Maria Luffoli, and the engraver Girolamo Rossi.[ Giovanni Venanzi was also very likely his pupil.][
In 1647 Cantarini was invited to Mantua by Carlo II Gonzaga of Nevers. Since it took him too long to finish the portrait the Duke had commissioned he was relieved of his duties. He became seriously ill and moved to Verona, where he died.][ Some biographers claim that Cantarini had created a scandal through his behavior and criticisms of the Gonzaga collection and it was suspected that he was poisoned by an angry rival.][
]
Work
General
Cantarini was principally a painter of the Counterreformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
who painted religious subjects. The majority of Reni's compositions deal with religious subject matter, principally taken from the New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
. He was particularly interested in depicting scenes involving the Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...
and the Holy Virgin
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, either in portrait settings with St Joseph and other saints or in scenes like the flight into Egypt
The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 2:13– 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the i ...
. He was also a gifted portrait painter. Cantarini was further a prolific engraver and draughtsman.
His work shows the influence of various artists with the influence of Guido Reni being the most important one. He was able to develop his own personal style from what he had learned from Reni combining elements of Baroque with Classicist tendencies.
His early works reveal a Venetian influence by their clear interest in light and colour. His presumed master Claudio Ridolfi instilled in him an appreciation of Federico Barocci, which was reflected in the soft sfumato of the faces of his Virgins and saints, their idyllic mood and tender feeling. His early works show further his study of the works of Raphael and the early work of Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
. He further drew inspiration from the caravaggesque art of Orazio Gentileschi
Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After ...
and Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri
Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri (1589–1655) was an Italian painter and Caravaggisto.
Guerrieri was born in Fossombrone. In 1606 he travelled to Rome where he studied under some notable artists including Orazio Gentileschi
Orazio Lomi Gentile ...
from whom he acquired a powerful naturalism.[
]
In the early 1630s he became increasingly absorbed in the work of Guido Reni that was present in various churches in and around his hometown. He made copies of, and made sketches after, Reni's work. An early work reflecting this influence of Reni is ''St Peter Healing the Lame Man'' (church of San Pietro in Valle, Fano) dating from around 1634.[ Other works from this early period are the ''Saint Thomas of Villanova'' (Pinacoteca Civica, Fano) and the ''Virgin of the girdle''.
During his stay in Reni's studio the influence of Reni only became stronger. After the rupture with Reni, Cantarini's work developed towards a more personal style. He abandoned academic classicism in favour of the naturalism of his youth. He also developed a freer, more lyrical style.
In this period he created the ''Rest on the Flight into Egypt'' (]Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, Paris) and ''Susanna and the Elders'' (c. 1640; Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the ...
). After his visit to Rome in the early 1640s he moved closer to the tradition of Raphael, yet without abandoning naturalism. His ''Rest on the Flight into Egypt'' (Pinacoteca di Brera
The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
, Milan) is based on Raphael's ''Madonna del Velo'' (Musée Condé
The Musée Condé – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the c ...
, Chantilly). Other works from this period show an influence of Venetian painting and a development towards freeer brushwork.[
]
Portraits
Already from his earliest days as an artist, Cantarini distinguished himself as a portrait painter. His earliest known portrait is a ''Portrait of a nun'' (1629, Galleria Pallavicini). Noble Pesaro families such as the Albani, Olivieri, Gavardini, Mosca and Baldassini ordered portraits from him. In 1633 he portrayed another prominent sitter: ''Antonio Barberini'', the prominent Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
, patron of the arts and a member of the House of Barberini. Another portrait, which shows the artist's skills as a portrait painter at their peak is the ''Portrait of a seated gentleman and a lady holding a rosary'' (Museo civico medievale in Bologna). It was painted around the same time as the portrait of Antonio Barberini.[
One of his best-known portraits is the ''Portrait of Guido Reni'', which probably dates from around the time of the breakup between Cantarini and Reni. The portrait is in tondo format. Due do its success many copies were made and various versions exist, including a larger one with a diameter of 60 cm in a private collection in Pesaro and a smaller one with a diameter of 36 cm (possibly a copy) in the ]Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the ...
. It is believed the larger one, which shows the sitter in half-length format, is the original. The larger format allowed the artist to represent his master in stylish clothing with a fine lace over the white collar and a golden collar pendant on his chest. The brush in the larger portrait is smoother, more fluid and richer in the soft passages than in the smaller portrait. The face of Reni thus acquires a greater liveliness and is infused with an expression of inner balance, rather than with impulsive anger as in the smaller copy in Bologna in the sample.[
]
Etchings
Cantarini was a prolific etcher to whom are attributed with certainty 37 plates of mythological, religious and allegorical subjects, all of exceptional quality. His prints were praised in his lifetime for their extraordinary delicacy and vibrant and luminous quality.[ Cantarini was able to imbue his plates with a new spirit, treating them in the same way as a piece of paper by using nervous and flickering signs. This gave his creations a modern movement and a vibe. Cantarini's skill as a designer/draughtsman informed his work as an etcher by allowing him to arrive at a graphic simplification of great beauty and effectiveness.
]
Cantarini is known to have followed a set procedure in the design and creation of his prints: he would start with a general sketch of the composition in pen or pencil. After having thus studied the details of the composition one by one, he traced the design in red stone, with the details defined. The design was then replicated in pen in its final dimensions using a grid and then transferred on a copper plate and etched.Simone Cantarini (Pesaro 1612 – Verona 1648), ''Sant’Antonio da Padova''
at the Uffizi Gallery
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantarini, Simone
1612 births
1648 deaths
People from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino
17th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
Painters from Bologna
Italian etchers