Luigi Primo on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Louis Cousin, in Italy mainly known as Luigi Primo or Luigi Gentile (c. 1605–1667) was a Flemish painter of the Baroque period, who was active in
on Hadrian A birth before 1606 is also considered possible. He was apprenticed to Gillis Claeissins the younger in Brussels in 1617.Biographical details
at the
in: Joachim von Sandrart, ''Teutsche Academie der Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste'', Nürnberg 1675/1679/1680
He was in Rome as early as 1626. Here he would remain for thirty years. He joined the Bentvueghels, the informal association of mainly Dutch and Flemish painters resident in Rome. In the Bentvueghels he was given the nickname ''Gentile'' or ''Gentiel'' on account of his gentle manners. He was in Rome commonly known by his nickname Gentile. He used also in Italy the surname 'Primo' which is a translation into Italian of his surname which in French means 'cousin'.
In Rome he studied the works of the great masters.Luigi Gentile
in: Giovanni Battista Passeri, ''Vite de pittori, scultori ed architetti che anno lavorato in Roma'', Roma, 1772, blz. 249-253] The first work in Rome that brought him some fame was a fresco on the side altar of the
/ref>
The seventeenth-century Italian biographer
Louis Cousin, in Italy mainly known as Luigi Primo or Luigi Gentile (c. 1605–1667) was a Flemish painter of the Baroque period, who was active in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
for a major part of his career. Working in a style, which combined his Flemish roots with the profound influence of Italian art, he was known for his portraits and altarpieces.Gash, John; Montagu, Jennifer, ''Algardi, Gentile and Innocent X: A Rediscovered Painting and Its Frame'', in: The Burlington Magazine, 1980, pp. 55–56
Life
His birthplace was probably the village Breivelde nearNinove
Ninove () is a city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is situated on the river Dender, and is part of the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Ninove proper and since the 1976 merger ...
in present-day Belgium but it is also possible that he was born in Brussels.Biographical dataon Hadrian A birth before 1606 is also considered possible. He was apprenticed to Gillis Claeissins the younger in Brussels in 1617.Biographical details
at the
Netherlands Institute for Art History
The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...
He left the southern Netherlands while still young.Carl Van de Velde. "Primo, Luigi." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 18 January 2017 According to the 17th-century biographer Joachim von Sandrart
Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the '' T ...
Cousin continued his studies in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.Ludovicus Primoin: Joachim von Sandrart, ''Teutsche Academie der Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste'', Nürnberg 1675/1679/1680
He was in Rome as early as 1626. Here he would remain for thirty years. He joined the Bentvueghels, the informal association of mainly Dutch and Flemish painters resident in Rome. In the Bentvueghels he was given the nickname ''Gentile'' or ''Gentiel'' on account of his gentle manners. He was in Rome commonly known by his nickname Gentile. He used also in Italy the surname 'Primo' which is a translation into Italian of his surname which in French means 'cousin'.
In Rome he studied the works of the great masters.Luigi Gentilein: Giovanni Battista Passeri, ''Vite de pittori, scultori ed architetti che anno lavorato in Roma'', Roma, 1772, blz. 249-253] The first work in Rome that brought him some fame was a fresco on the side altar of the
Santi Domenico e Sisto
The Church of Santi Domenico e Sisto is one of the titular churches in Rome, Italy in the care of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. It is located at No. 1 Largo Angelicum on the Quirinal Hill on the camp ...
church in Rome. It depicts a miracle attributed to Dominic Guzman
Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scienti ...
. Then he painted one of four oil paintings in the Saint Catherine chapel in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. This work increased his reputation and earned him new, well-paid commissions.
In 1635 he joined the confraternity of the Church of St. Julian of the Flemings, signing with 'Ludovicus Cousin, alias Primo, alias Gentile'. He was further inducted into 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 ...
in 1650 and even became its director from 1651 to 1652. The admission criteria of the Accademia were very strict and considered both the artistic merit and personal qualities of the candidate. The selection process consisted of two rounds of voting in order to ensure that only the most eminent artists were selected and the prestige of the Accademia would be preserved.Memorie per servire alla storia della Romana Accademia di S. Luca/ref>
The seventeenth-century Italian biographer Giovanni Battista Passeri
Giovanni Battista Passeri (c. 1610 – 22 April 1679) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was a pupil of the painter Domenichino, as the latter worked at Frascati. He painted genre and still life paintings.
Life
Born in Rome, Pas ...
wrote that Cousin's passion for women induced him to neglect his work and squander all his money. Cousin decided to leave Rome. He traveled to Loreto, where he made a painting for the high altar of the church of Santa Margherita, and then to Pesaro, where he worked in the cathedral. Finally he moved to Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, where he painted several portraits.
He returned to Rome a few years before the death of Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...
in 1655. He was the first artist who painted a portrait of his successor Alexander VII following his election.
After spending more than thirty years in Rome, he returned to Brussels. He became a member of the local Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...
in 1661. He continued to paint portraits and historical themes, and also made designs (cartons) for tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
that were then manufactured by local weavers
Weaver or Weavers may refer to:
Activities
* A person who engages in weaving fabric
Animals
* Various birds of the family Ploceidae
* Crevice weaver spider family
* Orb-weaver spider family
* Weever (or weever-fish)
Arts and entertainmen ...
. Through his involvement in the manufacture of tapestries, he was exempt from taxes.
His work was popular with the Habsburg princes from whom he received numerous commissions. For the Spanish king he made a few cartons for tapestries and a large painting entitled ''Venus Lamenting the Death of Adonis'' (around 1656-1557). He painted a number of paintings for Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria
Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (5 January 1614 – 20 November 1662), younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand III, was an Austrian soldier, administrator and patron of the arts.
He held a number of military commands, with limited success, an ...
and made for the Austrian emperor some portraits of the emperor.
According to Passeri he left little money after his death because he was fond of entertainment and thus liberally spent the money he earned.
He had a number of students, including Jan van Cleef
Jan van Cleve (III) or Jan van Cleef (III) (6 January 1646 – 18 December 1716) was a Dutch-born Flemish painter who is known for his altarpieces, allegorical pictures and mythological scenes.
Some of the altarpieces he painted between 1633 and 1657 for churches in Rome are still ''in situ'' (e.g. Virgin Presenting the Child to St Anthony of Padua, 1655,
in Italian Encyclopedia Treccani online He collaborated on a series of twenty copper panels that narrate the deeds of two Sicilian noble brothers of Spanish origin, Guillermo Ramón Moncada and Antonio Moncada. Of twelve scenes devoted to the former, Luigi Primo painted five,
San Marco, Rome
San Marco is a minor basilica in Rome dedicated to St. Mark the Evangelist located in the small Piazza di San Marco adjoining Piazza Venezia. It was first built in 336 by Pope Mark, whose remains are in an urn located below the main altar. The ...
).
According to some sources say Cousin painted between 1646-1652 27 small devotional paintings on copper for Pope Innocent X. The small panels that were greatly admired by his contemporaries are, however, lost.Biographical detailsin Italian Encyclopedia Treccani online He collaborated on a series of twenty copper panels that narrate the deeds of two Sicilian noble brothers of Spanish origin, Guillermo Ramón Moncada and Antonio Moncada. Of twelve scenes devoted to the former, Luigi Primo painted five,
Willem van Herp
Willem van Herp (I) or Willem van Herp the Elder (variations on first name: 'Guilliam', 'Gilliam' and 'Guillaume') (c. 1614 in Antwerp – 1677) was a Flemish Baroque painter specializing in religious paintings and small cabinet paintings of "low ...
six and Adam Frans van der Meulen
Adam Frans van der Meulen or Adam-François van der MeulenAdam Frans van der Meulen
at theDavid Teniers II and Jan van Kessel I, ''The Submission of the Sicilian Rebels to Antonio de Moncada in 1411''
at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
at the
Jan van Kessel the Elder
Jan van Kessel the Elder or Jan van Kessel (I) (baptized 5 April 1626, Antwerp – 17 April 1679, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp in the mid 17th century. A versatile artist he practised in many genres including studies of i ...
, an artist specialised in still lifes with flowers, insects and animals, executed the decorative borders that frame the various episodes.at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
Note
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Primo, Luis Flemish Baroque painters Flemish portrait painters Flemish history painters Italian Baroque painters Artists from Brussels 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Members of the Bentvueghels 1600s births 1667 deaths