Tommaso Laureti, often called Tommaso Laureti Siciliano (c. 1530 — 22 September 1602), was an Italian painter from Sicily who trained in the atelier of the aged

Sebastiano del Piombo Sebastiano del Piombo (; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerist periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian school in which he was trained w ...

and worked in Bologna. From 1582, he worked for papal patrons in Rome in a Michelangelo-inspired style with special skill in illusionistic perspective, that in his Roman work avoided all but traces of Mannerism.

Biography

Laureti was born in Palermo, Sicily. After his first master's death in 1547, he settled in Bologna, introducing illusionistic perspective paintings on ceilings to the city, notably an ''Alexander the Great'' ceiling with a painted architectural setting in Palazzo Vizzani. He painted a ''Transportation of the Body of Saint Augustine'' for the church of

San Giacomo Maggiore The Basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore is an historic Roman Catholic church in Bologna, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy, serving a monastery of Augustinian friars. It was built starting in 1267 and houses, among the rest, the Bentivoglio Chapel, ...

in Bologna. The Mannerist structural elements of the marble and bronze ''Fountain of Neptune'' in Bologna, which is surmounted by

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

's ''Neptune'', completed in 1566, were based on a 1563 drawing by Laureti. This commission from Pope Pius IV is undoubtedly Laureti's most familiar public work (''illustration, left below''). In the church of

Santa Susanna The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian ( it, Chiesa di Santa Susanna alle Terme di Diocleziano) is a Roman Catholic parish church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site ...

in Rome, Laureti's ''Death of Saint Susanna'' the main altarpiece in the church. His frescoes in the ''Sala dei Capitani'' in Michelangelo's ''Palazzo dei Conservatori'' on the

Campidoglio The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...

, painted in 1587-94, depict episodes from Ancient Roman republic: ''The Justice of

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

''; ''

Horatius Cocles Publius Horatius Cocles was an officer in the army of the early Roman Republic who famously defended the Pons Sublicius from the invading army of Etruscan King Lars Porsena of Clusium in the late 6th century BC, during the war between Rome and ...

defending the Pons Sublicius''; '' Victory at Lake Regillus''; and '' Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsena''. In 1582, the administration of Pope Gregory XIII commissioned Laureti to execute a series of frescoes on a post- Council of Trent triumphalist theme, ''The Triumph of the Christian religion'' on the newly vaulted ceiling of the ''Sala di Costantino'' or Hall of Constantine, where the walls had been frescoed by the school of Raphael earlier in the century. The central theme is surrounded by allegorical female figures representing the Italian provinces. The ceiling was completed under the pontificate of

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

, who had grown discontent with the dilatory performance of Laureti. The rigorous illusionistic perspectives represent the painter's constant fascination with the art of perspective.

Baglione Giovanni Baglione (1566 – 30 December 1643) was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. He is best remembered for his acrimonious and damaging involvement with the slightly younger artist Caravaggio and ...

in his biographies of artists states Laureti was assisted by the painter Antonio Scalvati. Laureti's perspective design for a portion of an illusionistic ceiling, seen as '' di sotto in su'' or 'from below to above', was engraved for Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola's, ''Le due regole della prospettiva pratica.'', 1583 (''illustration, right''). For the Basilica of San Prospero in Reggio Emilia, he painted an altarpiece depicting the ''Assumption''; this painting was completed by Ludovico Carracci in 1602. Laureti was the second ''principe'' or director of 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 ...

or the artists' academy in Rome, succeeding Federico Zuccari in 1595. His commemorative portrait (dated 1603) by

Orazio Borgianni Orazio Borgianni (6 April 1574 – 14 January 1616) was an Italian painter and etcher of the Mannerist and early-Baroque periods. He was the stepbrother of the sculptor and architect Giulio Lasso. Borgianni was born in Rome, where he was do ...

is still on display in the Accademia di San Luca.Harold E. Wethey, "Orazio Borgianni in Italy and in Spain" ''The Burlington Magazine'' 106 No. 733 (April 1964, pp. 146-159), pp 148f, 152, fig. 6, 154.

Sources

Filippo Titi, ', 1763(Getty Museum) "the Geometry of Seeing"
2002

G. Vasi's description, 1761. *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laureti, Tommaso 1530s births 1602 deaths Painters from Palermo 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Mannerist painters Catholic painters