Niccolò Circignani (c. 1517/1524 – after 1596) was an Italian painter of the late-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

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 ...

period.

Biography

Born in

Pomarance Pomarance is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about 60 km southeast of Pisa. Pomarance borders the following municipalities: Casole d'Elsa, Castelnuov ...

, he is one of three Italian painters called Pomarancio. His first works are documented from the 1560s, where he painted frescos on the Old Testament stories for 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 ...

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

, where he may have worked alongside

Santi di Tito Santi di Tito (5 December 1536 – 25 July 1603) was one of the most influential and leading Italian painters of the proto- Baroque style – what is sometimes referred to as "Counter-Maniera" or Counter-Mannerism. Biography He was born in Flo ...

and Giovanni de' Vecchi. He also completed altarpieces for Orvieto (1570),

Umbertide Umbertide () is a town and ''comune'' (township) of Italy, in the province of Perugia and in northwestern Umbria, at the confluence of the Reggia river and the Tiber. It is 30 km (19 mi) North of Perugia and 20 km (12 mi) South ...

(1572),

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north of ...

(1573–1577) as well as

Città della Pieve Città della Pieve is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located in Valdichiana a few kilometres from the border between Umbria and Tuscany, and about southwest of Perugia and southeast of Chius ...

. He worked at

Orvieto Cathedral Orvieto Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Orvieto; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 198 ...

with

Hendrick van den Broeck Hendrick van den Broeck or Arrigo Fiammingo (c. 1530 – 28 September 1597) was a Flemish painter, fresco painter, glass painter and sculptor of the late- Renaissance or Mannerist period. After training in Flanders, he travelled to Italy w ...

, a brother of the sculptor Willem van den Broecke and a relative of the painter Chrispijn van den Broeck. He painted frescoes (1568) in the church of the ''Maestà delle Volte'' in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

, the ''Resurrection'' (1569 in

Panicale Panicale is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria. Located on the eastern slope of Mount Petrarvella, in the southeast of Valdichiana, it overlooks Lake Trasimeno and it is about 35 km far from Pe ...

) and an ''Annunciation'' (1577, now in the Pinacoteca Comunale, Città di Castello). He painted frescoes (starting 1574) on mythologic themes including a ''Judgement of Paris'', ''Stories from the Aenid'', and others, in collaboration with Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi in the ''Palazzo della Corgna'' in Castiglione del Lago. From 1579 he returned to Rome to work with Matthijs Bril and decorated the ''Sala della Meridiana'' in the ''Torre dei Venti'' (finished before the end of 1580) as well as in the Loggie (1580–83) in the Vatican. He then became one of the artists favored by the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

. Assisted by

Matteo da Siena Matteo di Giovanni (c. 1430 – 1495) was an Italian Renaissance artist from the Sienese School. Biography Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo was born in Borgo Sansepolcro around 1430. His family relocated to Siena and he is firmly associated with ...

, he began depicting scenes of Jesuit martyrdom. He was further commissioned such works, depicting church martyrs, with help from

Antonio Tempesta Antonio Tempesta, also called il Tempestino (1555 – 5 August 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art acted as a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. Much of his work depicts major battles and his ...

for the church of

Santo Stefano Rotondo The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill ( it, Basilica di Santo Stefano al Monte Celio, la, Basilica S. Stephani in Caelio Monte) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, ...

. Here he finally completed over thirty graphic scenes of martyrdom, depicting every gruesome method as if it were an advertisement for a torture chamber. Visitors like

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

expressed horror at the spectacle in this church, calling it a:S. Stefano Rotondo, in Thayer's Guide to Roman Churches
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damp, mildewed vault of an old church in the outskirts of Rome, ... by reason of the hideous paintings with which its walls are covered. These represent the martyrdoms of saints and early Christians; and such a panorama of horror and butchery no man could imagine in his sleep, though he were to eat a whole pig raw, for supper. Grey-bearded men being boiled, fried, grilled, crimped, singed, eaten by wild beasts, worried by dogs, buried alive, torn asunder by horses, chopped up small with hatchets: women having their breasts torn with iron pinchers, their tongues cut out, their ears screwed off, their jaws broken, their bodies stretched upon the rack, or skinned upon the stake, or crackled up and melted in the fire: these are among the mildest subjects.

Circignani's last documented painting, in Cascia, is from 1596.

Sources

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Circignani, Niccolo 1530s births 1590s deaths People from Pomarance 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Mannerist painters Fresco painters