Giovanni Balducci, called Il Cosci after his maternal uncle, (c. 1560 — after 1630) was an Italian

mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

painter.

Biography

Born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, Balducci was trained by

Giovanni Battista Naldini Giovanni Battista Naldini (1535–1591) was an Italian Painting, painter in a late-Mannerism, Mannerist style, active in Florence and Rome. Biography His first apprenticeship (1549–1557) was in the studio of Jacopo Pontormo. He went from Rom ...

. Under the guidance and supervision of

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

, he worked as an assistant to

Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari (c. 1540/1541August 6, 1609), was an Italian Mannerist painter and architect, active both in Italy and abroad. Biography Zuccaro was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino (Marche). His docum ...

in the fresco painting of the ''Final Judgment'' (1575–1579), on the inside of the Brunelleschi dome of 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 ...

in Florence. He also frescoed a ''Last Supper'' in the church. These paintings, in addition to other transient ornamented arches and banners, were part of decorations developed to celebrate the wedding of

Ferdinand I de' Medici Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 3 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. Early life Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at t ...

, Grand Duke of Tuscany, to

Christina of Lorraine Christina of Lorraine or Christine de Lorraine (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during ...

. During this time, Balducci also painted an altarpiece of the ''Mystical Marriage of St Catherine'' for the church of Sant'Agostino in

San Gimignano San Gimignano () is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of ...

. From 1577-1580, he aided Naldini in the fresco decoration of the Altoviti Chapel in the church of

Trinità dei Monti The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called merely the Trinità dei Monti ( French: ''La Trinité-des-Monts''), is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church in Rome, central Italy. It is best known for its position abo ...

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 ...

. He returned to Florence, to assist

Alessandro Allori Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori (Florence, 31 May 153522 September 1607) was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school. Biography In 1540, after the death of his father, Allori was brought up and train ...

in the decoration of Vasari's Gallery for the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

. Under the patronage of Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici, who later became the short-lived Pope Leo XI, Balducci was engaged from 1588-1590 in painting a cycle of frescoes depicting scenes from the ''Life of Christ'' for the

Oratorio di Gesù Pellegrino An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

, located in Via San Gallo of Florence. From 1590-1591, he worked with Naldini in the decoration of

Volterra Cathedral Volterra Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, or ''Duomo di Volterra'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Volterra, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is the seat of the bishop of Volterra. History The presen ...

, painting in the Serguidi chapel a ''Miracle of Loaves and Fishes''. By 1600, Balducci had moved to Naples, where he painted altarpieces of ''St Dominic dispensing the Rosary'' and ''St Peter Martyr'' for the church of Santa Maria della Sanità. In 1609 he painted the ''

Pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

Carlo Gesualdo Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa ( – 8 September 1613) was Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza. As a composer he is known for writing madrigals and pieces of sacred music that use a chromatic language not heard again until the late 19th century. ...

'', now in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Gesualdo in the province of

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

. Balducci also continued to work in fresco, painting in the cloister of Santa Maria del Carmine and on the ceilings of the church of the Annunziata in

Maddaloni Maddaloni (Neapolitan language, Campanian: ) is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, in the province of Caserta, about southeast of Caserta, with stations on the railways from Caserta to Benevento and from Caserta to Naples. Main sights The ...

, in Campania. He died in Naples.

Legacy

Balducci has paintings in public collections including two in the United Kingdom.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balducci, Giovanni 1560s births 1630s deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Painters from Florence Italian Mannerist painters