Bartolomeo Cesi (; 16 August 1556 – 11 July 1629) was an Italian painter and draftsman of the Bolognese School.Andrea Bayer. "Cesi, Bartolomeo" Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 7 November 2020 He made easel paintings as well as frescoes. He is known mainly for his religious paintings but he also painted portraits and mythological scenes.Turner, N.: From Michelangelo to Annibale Carracci. A century of Italian drawings from the Prado
Art Services International-Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 158

Life

Born to a wealthy family of Bologna. He first received a humanist education and later studied painting under Giovanni Francesco Bezzo . In Bologna, he contributed works to the

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...

, San Procolo, and Santo Stefano. He collaborated with

Ludovico Carracci Ludovico (or Lodovico) Carracci (21 April 1555 – 13 November 1619) was an Italian, early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker born in Bologna. His works are characterized by a strong mood invoked by broad gestures and flickering light th ...

and

Prospero Fontana Prospero Fontana (1512–1597) was a Bolognese painter of late Renaissance and Mannerist art. He is perhaps best known for his frescoes and architectural detailing. The speed in which he completed paintings earned him commissions where he wor ...

on some projects. His pious sobriety was influenced by his friendship with Cardinal

Gabriele Paleotti Gabriele Paleotti (4 October 1522 – 22 July 1597) was an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna. He was a significant figure in, and source about, the later sessions of the Council of Trent, and much later a candidate for the papacy in 1590, ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, who had attended the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

. His biography is contained in

Carlo Cesare Malvasia Carlo Cesare Malvasia (1616–1693) was an Italian scholar and art historian from Bologna, best known for his biographies of Baroque artists titled ''Felsina pittrice'', published in 1678. Life and career Malvasia is the Bolognese equivalen ...

's ''Felsina Pittrice''. He traveled to Rome and worked there with

Scipione Pulzone Scipione Pulzone (1544 – February 1, 1598), also known as Il Gaetano, was a Neapolitan painter of the late Italian Renaissance. His work differs in several respects from the Mannerist style predominant at the time. He was active mainly in Ro ...

'. After his return in 1591, one of his project was a series of frescoes on the ''Passion of Christ'' for the Carthusian Monastery (Charterhouse) or San Girolamo in Bologna. In 1595, Cesi completed the triptych including the Adoration of the Magi'' and ''Virgin and Saints'' for the

Basilica of San Domenico The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna, Italy. The remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers ( Dominicans), are buried inside the exquisite shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and hi ...

in Bologna. Together with his contemporary Lodovico Carracci, Cesi campaigned successfully to create a guild of painters in Bologna in 1599. Cesi's last years were less productive, but he became the drawing master of the Accademia degli Ardenti in 1620.Bartolomeo Cesi
at the Getty Museum Alessandro Tiarini was his pupil.

Work

He made easel paintings as well as frescoes. He is known mainly for his religious paintings but is also known to have painted portraits. Cesi was inspired by the Counter Reformation's interest in education and the use of art as a vehicle for renewing faith and promoting the Roman Catholic creed. Three versions of a ''Crucifixion with saints'' (1585-1600) of which one made for an altar in the church San Martino, Bologna, show his mature style: sober mood and intellectual and abstract composition and naturalistic figures. They reflect his interest in making designs based on his studies from life.

Passion Cycle by Cesi at Certosa di San Girolamo of Bologna

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesi, Bartolomeo 1556 births 1629 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Painters from Bologna Fresco painters Italian Baroque painters