Luigi Gregori
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Luigi Gregori (1819–1896) was an Italian artist who worked at the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
and served as artist in residence and professor at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
.


Biography

He was born in
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 ...
, Italy, in 1819, where at the age of fourteen he became apprentice of the Bolognese artist Giovanni Battista Frulli. There, he studied art of the antiquity as well as local artists, including
the Carracci The Carracci ( , , ) were a Bolognese family of artists that played an instrumental role in bringing forth the Baroque style in painting. Brothers Annibale (1560–1609) and Agostino (1557–1602) along with their cousin Ludovico (1555–161 ...
and Guido Reni. Frulli died in 1837, and Gregori then worked for Prince Pignatelli of Monteleone, and he traveled throughout Italy, including studying in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. In 1840, he moved to
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 ...
and enrolled at 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 fi ...
and studied under
Tommaso Minardi Tommaso Minardi (December 4, 1787 – January 12, 1871) was an Italian painter and author on art theory, active in Faenza, Rome, Perugia, and other towns. He painted in styles that transitioned from Neoclassicism to Romanticism. Biography Mi ...
. Minardi was a major proponent of the Purismo movement, which rejected the popular neoclassicism and aimed to emulate
Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...
artists such as
Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...
and
Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ea ...
. Minardi and Purismo as a whole influenced Gregori greatly, and he intensely studied the fifteenth-century masters. Gregori was also inspired by Purismo's focus on a return to religious and devotional imagery, in contrast to increasingly secular trends. After his training at the academy, he was hired as artist in residence at the Vatican, where he was commissioned a portrait of Pope
Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
. However, he may have been frustrated by Pius's focus on restoring old Vatican artwork rather than creating new pieces. In 1874 he was invited by Rev.
Edward Sorin Edward Frederick Sorin (French: Édouard Sorin), C.S.C. (February 6, 1814October 31, 1893) was a French-born priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the founder of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and of St. Edward's University in Au ...
, who was visiting the papal court, to be artist in residence at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
, where he stayed for seventeen years. There he produced most of his works, and decorated the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Main building, St. Edward's Hall and others. In 1890 he returned to Italy, where he won a golden medal for the arts. He died in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
in 1896.


Works

From 1868 to 1892 he worked in the Church of the Sacred Heart (now Basilica of the Sacred Heart) at Notre Dame, painting the nave, the transept, the ceilings and the apse with religious figures featuring mainly Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Saints and Doctors of the Church. From 1874 to 1877 he painted the stations of the Cross. In late 1875, Sorin and other passengers were stranded for three weeks on the steamship ''L'Amerique'' after its shaft broke. The next January, Sorin commissioned Gregori to make a painting in gratitude for his rescue; Gregori painted a mural depicting
Jesus walking on water Jesus walking on the water, or on the sea, is depicted as one of the miracles of Jesus recounted in the New Testament. There are accounts of this event in three Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and John—but it is not included in the Gospel of Luke. This ...
on the back wall of the church. The artwork was painted over during renovations between 1951 and 1977, however. In 1880 he was commissioned by Rev. Sorin to create the Columbus murals, a series of twelve murals depicting the life and voyages of the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus inside the Main Building. The decoration of the Main Building continued in 1890 with the interior of the dome depicting Religion surrounded by Philosophy, History, Science, Fame, Music and Poetry. His twelve murals, such as ''Columbus Coming Ashore'', were covered in January 2019, following an announcement by the president of the Notre Dame that the action was being taken because the artworks "depict Native Americans in stereotypical submissive poses before white European explorers... ." His painting ''Return of Columbus and Reception at Court'' from the Columbus murals was featured in the 10¢ stamp of the
Columbian Issue The Columbian Issue, also known as the Columbians, is a set of 16 postage stamps issued by the United States to commemorate the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago during 1893. The finely-engraved stamps were the first commemorative stamp ...
. Assumption Catholic Church,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
's first Italian-speaking church, was dedicated in 1886, and Gregori was hired to paint the altarpiece and ceiling. He also painted frescoes at St. Raphael's Cathedral in
Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
, the oldest Christian congregation in the state. Gregori also helped decorate the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania, by painting
Saint Francis de Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...
, Saint Patrick, and
Saint Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. After ...
.


Gallery

File:Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame, IN) - interior, The Death of Saint Joseph.jpg, The Death of Saint Joseph, interior of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, IN. File:Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame, IN) - stations of the Cross.jpg, Stations of the Cross, interior of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, IN. File:Basilica_of_the_Sacred_Heart_(Notre_Dame,_Indiana)_-_interior,_The_Lady_Chapel,_mural,_The_Exaltation_of_the_Holy_Cross_by_Luigi_Gregori,_looking_straight_up.jpg, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, interior of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, IN. File:Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame, Indiana) - interior, The Lady Chapel, mural, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross by Luigi Gregori, detail of the Holy Cross.jpg, Exaltation of the Holy Cross (detail), interior of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, IN. File:Columbian237-10c.jpg, Columbus presenting Natives, from Gregori's Columbus Murals


References and sources

;References ;Sources *
The Columbus Murals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregori, Luigi Painters from Bologna 19th-century Italian painters 19th-century Italian male artists Italian male painters University of Notre Dame faculty University of Notre Dame people 1819 births 1896 deaths