
Ferraù Fenzoni
[Name also written as Ferrau Fenzoni, Faenzoni, Fanzoni, Fanzone] (1562 – 11 April 1645) was an Italian painter and draughtsman.
[Ferrau Fenzoni]
at the British Museum He was a canvas and fresco painter of biblical and religious subjects who worked in a late Mannerist style. He trained and worked in Rome in his youth and later he worked on important commissions in
Todi
Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.
...
and his native Faenza.
[Ferraù Fenzoni Biography and Works]
at Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. ...
He is also called 'Ferraù da Faenza' and 'Il Faenzone' after his birthplace
Faenza
Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna.
Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...
.
[Roberto Nuccetelli, ''FENZONI, Ferraù'']
in Dizionario biografico degli italiani, vol. 46, Rome, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 1996
Life
Ferraù Fenzoni was born in
Faenza
Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna.
Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...
and moved to Rome as a young man in the early 1580s. He was apprenticed in Rome during the papacy of
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 ...
and worked on numerous fresco cycles under pope
Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
, such as the Loggia della Benedizioni in the
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome.
Located on St. J ...
, the frescoes on the walls and vaults of the
Scala Santa of the adjacent Basilica of
San Giovanni in Laterano
The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
, and the decoration in the Sistine library.
[Ferraù Fenzoni biography]
at Stephen Ongpin Fine Art
From 1594, he worked in
Todi
Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.
...
. He made illusionistic decorations in the bishop's palace ánd various altarpieces and murals in the
Cathedral of Todi. Most of the latter is lost except for an impressive ''Last Judgement''.
[
]
He returned to Faenza in 1599 where he remained for the rest of his career. He decorated chapels in the cathedral of Faenza
Faenza Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Faenza, ''Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral built in the style of the Tuscan Renaissance in central Faenza, Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Faenza-Modigliana and is dedicated ...
from 1612 to 1616. In 1622, he completed a ''Deposition'' (local Pinacoteca). Among his most important works of his late period are ''The Pool of Bethesda'', made around 1600 for the confraternity of San Giovanni Decollato. He also worked for churches in other locations of Romagna
Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to ...
, including Bagnacavallo, Castel Bolognese
Castel Bolognese ( rgn, Castël Bulgnés) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southwest of Ravenna. As of 2006, it has a population of about ...
and Cesena
Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and '' comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137.
History
Cesena was ...
. One of his last significant paintings is an altarpiece of ''The deposition'' from around 1622, painted for the artist's chapel in the church of the now destroyed Madonna del Fuoco Church in Faenza.[Giorgio Martini, ''La Deposizione di Cristo di Ferraù Fenzoni'']
in the Pinacoteca Comunale (Faenza) on 4 Maggio 2020 At the end of the 1620s, Fenzoni stopped painting, due to his bad eyesight.[
The artist became a prominent local figure and received various honours. In 25 April 1634, he was made the vicar and keeper (''castellano'') of Granarolo. In 1640, Cardinal Girolamo Colonna made Fenzoni a knight in the Order of the Golden Spur (''cavaliere dello speron d’oro'').][
]
Work
His expressive canvases are executed in a late 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. His style was influenced by the artists working for the court of Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hou ...
in Prague who are referred to as Northern Mannerists. His chromatic range, use of light, and iridescent tones, however, place him within the tradition of Federico Barocci. Fenzoni's work further has affinities with the work of Francesco Vanni
Francesco Vanni (1563 – 26 October 1610) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher and printer active in Rome and his native city of Siena. and Andrea Lilio, two artists with whom he exchanged drawings.[
Fenzoni was a prolific draughtsman and continued to draw into his old age. His reputation was such that he was able to obtain commissions for pen drawings, which were sold as autonomous works of art. He is mainly known today for his drawings rather than his painting. Approximately 160 drawings by his hand have survived, a large portion of which are in the collection of the Uffizi in Florence.][
]
Notes
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenzoni, Ferrau
1562 births
1645 deaths
People from the Province of Ravenna
16th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
17th-century Italian painters