Sinibaldo Scorza (16 July 1589 – 5 April 1631) was an Italian painter, draughtsman and etcher. He was born into a wealthy aristocratic family from

Voltaggio Voltaggio (Ottaggio in Ligurian) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Located there is a Roman bridge on the Lemme st ...

(now part of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

), his father being the Conte Scorza di Voltaggio, and he received a literary and humanist education. He first trained with a poorly known painter, Giovanni Battista Carosio, and his son Bernardo until he moved in 1604 to Genoa and apprenticed with

Giovanni Battista Paggi Giovanni Battista Paggi (27 February 1554 – 12 March 1627) was an Italian painter, sculptor, and writer. His style spans the Late-Renaissance and early- Baroque. Life He was born in Genoa into the well-to-do family of his father Pellegrino. ...

. He painted a "Christ comforted by Angels" in the painting gallery of the Cappuccini. In 1619 the Duke Carlo Emanuele I of Savoy named Scorza his

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

, and he was granted a monthly pension of 50 ducats per month. However, when war erupted between Genoa and Savoy in 1625, he returned to Genoa, and there he was charged with treason. He was exiled to Massa, then to Rome, where he worked for several years before he was granted permission to return to Genoese territory and Voltaggio in 1627. During his last years, Scorza influenced

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (baptized 23 March 16095 May 1664) was an Italian Baroque painter, printmaker and draftsman, of the Genoese school. He is best known now for his etchings, and as the inventor of the printmaking technique of monoty ...

. He is one of the painters mentioned in Raffaello Soprani’s biographies. Scorza is best known for paintings in which animals are part of the narrative, such as the ''story of Noah'' and others. Part of this attention to nature was derived from his exposure to the person and works of diverse northern European artists who worked in Genoa:

Frans Snyders Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11 November 1579, Antwerp – 19 August 1657, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes and still lifes. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited with ...

and his pupil Jan Roos and

Pieter Boel Pieter Boel or Peeter Boel (baptized on 10 October 1622 – 3 September 1674) was a Flemish painter, printmaker and tapestry designer. He specialised in lavish still lifes and animal paintings. He moved to Paris, where he worked in the gobel ...

and Goffredo Wals.

References

Artnet biography from Grove encyclopedia of ArtGetty museum entry
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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scorza, Sinibaldo 1589 births 1631 deaths People from Voltaggio 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Painters from Genoa Italian draughtsmen Italian etchers Italian painters of animals Court painters