Stefano Tofanelli (September 26, 1752 - November 30, 1812) was an Italian painter during the Neoclassic period.

Life

He was born in Nave, near

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

, and as a young boy of ten he was apprenticed with the painter

Giuseppe Antonio Luchi Giuseppe Antonio Luchi, also known as il Diecimino, (July 17, 1709 – May 12, 1774) was an Italian painter. He was born in Diecimo, now within Borgo a Mozzano, in the now Province of Lucca. He initially trained under a doctor Azzi of Castelnuovo, ...

, also called ''il Diecimino'', who was a follower of the rococo style of

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an impo ...

. With his fellow apprentice

Bernardino Nocchi ] Bernardino or Giovanni Bernardino Nocchi (May 8, 1741 – January 27, 1812) was an Italian painter, mainly of sacred and historic subjects. Biography He was born in Lucca and trained there under Giuseppe Antonio Luchi until 1767. By 1769, Nocch ...

, then moved to Rome in 1768, where they both worked with Niccolò Lapiccola. In Rome with Nocchi he painted frescoes for the Palazzo of the Cardinal Dropanni.Opere edite e inedite, Volumes 1-2
By marchese Cesare Lucchesini, Pages 116-118. He was employed by engravers to make drawings for them, and, for example, for Volpato, he drew ''Parnassus'' by

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 ...

and a ''Sibyl and two Prophets'' by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, ''Martyrdom'' by

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 ...

, ''Aurora'' and ''Day & Night'' by

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vig ...

, and a Landscape by

Claude Lorraine Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in It ...

. For the artist Morghen, he completed a drawing of Poussin's ''Dance of the Hours'', of Raphael's ''Jurisprudence'', ''Transfiguration'', and ''Miracle of Bolsena''; and of Murillo's ''Magdalene''. He also worked for Bettelini,

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

, and

Giovanni Folo Giovanni Folo (1764–1836) was an Italian engraver of the Neoclassic period, active in Italy. Folo was born in Bassano del Grappa. He originally studied with Giulio Golini and Giovanni Battista Mengardi in Venice. In 1781 he moved to Rome ...

. Tofanelli also painted altarpieces, portraits, and mythological scenes. In 1781 he opened an Art School 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 ...

, but afterwards returned to Lucca, and in 1802 became Professor of Drawing in the University of San Frediano. Among his pupils was

Michele Ridolfi file:Michele_ridolfi,_autoritratto,_1842.jpg, Selfportrait Michele Ridolfi (Gragnano, September 29, 1793 – Lucca, November 1, 1854) was an Italian painter and art critic. Biography He was a pupil of Stefano Tofanelli in Lucca. He specialize ...

. He died in Lucca, aged 60.

References

* 1752 births 1812 deaths 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters Italian printmakers Painters from Lucca Fresco painters 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-18thC-stub