Raffaele Motta (1550 – 1578), known as Raffaellino da Reggio, 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 ...

style painter from Reggio Emilia, who mainly worked in

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 assimilated the style of

Taddeo Zuccari Taddeo Zuccaro (or Zuccari) (1 September 15292 September 1566) was an Italian painter, one of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school. Biography Zuccaro was born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino, the son of Ottaviano Zuccaro, ...

and also developed more personal traits. In the last three years of his short life, he worked alongside

Lorenzo Sabbatini Lorenzo Sabbatini or Sabatini, Sabattini or Sabadini (c. 1530–1576), sometimes referred to as Lorenzino da Bologna, was an Italian painter of the Mannerist period from Bologna. Biography Sabbatini was born in Bologna and studied with Pr ...

in works for the Vatican commissioned by

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

. The Late Mannerist painter and historian

Giovanni 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 ...

considered Raffaellino's early death a significant loss to art.

Biography

He was born at Codemondo near Reggio Emilia in 1550. According to his earliest biographer, Bonifacio Fantini, he was a builder's son who initially trained under Lelio Orsi in his studio in nearby Novellara, as well as with a medallist, Alfonso Ruspagiari. Fantini says he painted facades in Reggio Emilia and in

Guastalla Guastalla ( Guastallese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Geography Guastalla is situated in the Po Valley, and lies on the banks of the Po River. Guastalla is located at around from the citie ...

, where he worked for Cesare Gonzaga. By December 1570, he was in Rome, performing a commission for the cardinal Ippolito d’Este. In 1575, he worked with Giovanni de' Vecchi at the

Villa Farnese The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a pentagonal mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately north-west of Rome. This villa should not be confused with the Palazzo Farnese a ...

Caprarola Caprarola is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The village is situated in a range of volcanic hills known as the Cimini Mounts. The town is home to the large Renaissance mansion or villa which ...

, painting in the Sala del Mappamondo (World Map) and the Camera degli Angeli. He also painted frescos for the Oratory of Gonfalone in Rome, including a depiction of ''Christ before Caiaphas''. He painted a ''Martyrdom of the four crowned saints'' for the Capella di San Silvestro in the church of

Santi Quattro Coronati Santi Quattro Coronati is an ancient basilica in Rome, Italy. The church dates back to the fourth or fifth century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. The complex of the basilica with its two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal P ...

in Rome. In the last three years of his short life, he worked extensively at the Vatican alongside the Bolognese artist,

, in work commissioned by

. He also appears to have worked in the Palazzino Gambara at Villa Lante in Bagnaia. Taken together, his work in Rome displays an eclectic approach, often though not always assuming stylistic traits of the late

(he sometimes worked alongside

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 ...

, Taddeo's younger brother). The compositional felicities of his depictions of ''Tobias and the Angel'' and ''Diana and Acteon'', two of his surviving oil paintings, suggest an ideal stylistic connection with

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

. He died prematurely in Rome in 1578 at around 28 years of age, overcome, according to

, by "malignant fever". In his artist's biography, Baglione enthused that "if a man of such talent as Raffaellino had lived longer, he would have moved on to amazing things". This assessment of his broader artistic potential has gained some recent critical support.

References

Early biographical sources

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External links

Raffaellino da Reggio (Biographical details)
from the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reggio, Raffaellino da 1550 births 1578 deaths People from Reggio Emilia 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Mannerist painters Fresco painters