Benedetto Gennari II (October 19, 1633 – December 9, 1715) was an Italian painter active during the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period.

Biography

Belonging to a dynasty of painters, Gennari was a student of

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 ...

, the grandson of

Benedetto Gennari Benedetto Gennari (1563–1610) was an Italian painter of the early- Baroque period, active mainly in Ferrara and Cento. His birthplace is poorly recorded. He adopted a style influenced by Caravaggio, and by age 19, was working in the househol ...

, and older brother of

Cesare Gennari Cesare Gennari (12 December 1637 – 11 February 1688) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. His ''Saint Mary Magdalene'' is in the Pinacoteca Civica di Cento. His ''Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Nicholas of Bari'' is at the Pinacoteca ...

. His father was

Ercole Gennari Ercole Gennari (10 March 1597 - 27 June 1658) was an Italian Renaissance drawer and painter. Son of the painter Benedetto Gennari and Julia Bovi, Ercole was baptized in the collegiate church of San Biagio, in Cento. He originally studied to be ...

and mother Lucia Barbieri. He trained at the workshop of the celebrated master, Guercino, hence his style was always very close to that of his teacher. Upon Guercino's death, Gennari inherited his studio which he ran with his brother

Cesare Cesare, the Italian language, Italian version of the given name Caesar (title), Caesar, may refer to: Given name * Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician * Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel ...

. With a restless spirit, Gennari traveled to Paris in March 1672 to work for the court of King

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. The French nobility received him with open arms, and the multitude of commissions encouraged him to prolong his stay. In September 1674, he moved to London where he became court painter to King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

and his successor James II. He painted allegorical and mythological scenes, and above all portraits.

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...

and

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...

, Catholic wives of Protestant kings, commissioned artworks for their private worship. Gennari had to leave England when King James was dethroned; he followed James's court to

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

in 1689. By 1692, he was back in Bologna. Gennari was an outstanding portraitist who eventually developed a style far removed from the principles taught in the school of Guercino. In the mature phase of his style, he came to acquire characteristics of the art of northern Europe, which he learned through his travels. In 1709, he was one of the founding members of the

Accademia Clementina The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna ("academy of fine arts of Bologna") is a public tertiary academy of fine art in Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. It has a campus in Cesena. Giorgio Morandi taught engraving at the Accademia f ...

Selected works

* ''Portrait of Guercino'' ( National Art Gallery of Bologna) * ''Santa Clara taking habits'' (1656–57, Santa Chiara, Pieve di Cento) * ''Cleopatra'' (Yale Center for British Art, New Haven) * ''Tales of Ovid's Metamorphoses'' (Hampton Court, London) * ''Portrait of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin'' (1674, Musée des Beaux-Arts,

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

) * ''Annunciation'' (1675, Cassa di Risparmio,

Cento The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turk ...

) * ''Rinaldo and Armida'' (1676–78, Private Collection) * ''Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705) Queen of King Charles II'' (1678, Portugal, Lisbon, British Embassy) * ''King Charles II (1630-85) Reigned 1660-85'' (1678, Portugal, Lisbon, British Embassy) * ''Sagrada Familia'' (1682, Birmingham Museum Art Gallery) * ''Sleeping Young Shepherd surprised by two women'' (Royal Collection) * ''Death of Cleopatra'' (1686, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath) * ''Portrait of James II of England'' (1686, Private Collection, NY) * ''Portrait of Nathaniel Cholmley'' (1687, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull) * ''Annunciation'' (1686, Ringling Museum, Sarasota) * ''Elizabeth Panton as Santa Catalina'' (1689, Tate Gallery, London) * ''Mary of Modena and his son James Stuart III'' (1690, Pinacoteca Civica, Modena) * ''Theseus and the daughters of Minos'' (1702, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) * ''The Miracle of Saint Francis Xavier'' ( Saint-François Xavier des Missions étrangères, Paris)

Gallery

File:Benedetto Gennari - Cleopatra - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Cleopatra'' File:B Gennari II Sagrada Familia 1682 Birmingham Museum Art Gallery.jpg, ''Sagrada Familia'' File:Hortense Mancini.jpg, ''Hortense Mancini, duquesa de Mazarino'' File:Benedetto_Gennari_-_Theseus_mit_den_beiden_Töchtern_des_Minos_-_GG_7126_-_Kunsthistorisches_Museum.jpg, ''Theseus mit den beiden Töchtern des Minos, 1702'' File:Benedetto_Gennari_(Cento_1633-Bologna_1715)_-_Danaë_Receiving_the_Shower_of_Gold_-_RCIN_402934_-_Royal_Collection.jpg, Danaë Receiving the Shower of Gold File:Benedetto_Gennari_(Cento_1633-Bologna_1715)_-_The_Genius_of_Poetry_-_RCIN_406791_-_Royal_Collection.jpg, The Genius of Poetry File:Benedetto_Gennari_(Cento_1633-Bologna_1715)_-_Hercules_and_Omphale_-_RCIN_402940_-_Royal_Collection.jpg, Hercules and Omphal File:Benedetto_Gennari_(Cento_1633-Bologna_1715)_-_Venus_and_the_Sleeping_Adonis_-_RCIN_407150_-_Royal_Collection.jpg, Venus and the Sleeping Adonis

References

External links

* *
Benedetto Gennari at Artcyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gennari, Benedetto II Painters from Bologna Italian Baroque painters 1633 births 1715 deaths Italian male painters People from Cento 17th-century Italian painters 18th-century Italian painters 18th-century Italian male artists

Biography

Selected works

Gallery

See also

References

External links