Jump to content

Sebastiano Ricci

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the bishop of Città della Pieve, seeSebastiano Ricci (bishop).
Sebastiano Ricci
The Adoration of the Kings, 1726 (Royal Collection)
Born1 August 1659
Belluno,Veneto,Italy
Died15 May 1734(1734-05-15)(aged 74)
Venice,Italy
NationalityItalian
OccupationPainter
SpouseUnidentified wife (m. 1691)
Children1
FamilyMarco Ricci(nephew)

Sebastiano Ricci(1 August 1659 – 15 May 1734) was anItalian painterof the lateBaroqueschool of Venice. About the same age asPiazzetta,and an elder contemporary ofTiepolo,he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminousCortonesquestyle of grand manner fresco painting.

He was the uncle ofMarco Ricci(1676 – 1730), who trained with him, and became an innovator inlandscape painting.

Early years

[edit]

He was born inBelluno,the son of Andreana and Livio Ricci. In 1671, he was apprenticed toFederico CervelliofVenice.Others claim Ricci's first master wasSebastiano Mazzoni.Indiscretion at a young age in 1678 resulted in an unintended pregnancy and, later, a bigger scandal when Ricci was charged with trying to poison the young woman in question to avoid marriage. He was imprisoned, and released only after the intervention of a nobleman, probably aPisani familymember. He eventually married the mother of his child in 1691, although this was a stormy union.

Following his release he moved toBologna,where he lived near the Parish of San Michele del Mercato. His painting style there was apparently influenced byGiovanni Gioseffo dal Sole.On 28 September 1682 he was contracted by the "Fraternity of Saint John of Florence" to paint aDecapitation of John the Baptistfor their oratory.

On 9 December 1685, the Count ofSan SecondonearParmacommissioned the decoration of theOratorio della Beata Vergine del Serraglio,which Ricci completed in collaboration ofFerdinando Galli-Bibienaby October 1687, receiving a payment of 4,482 Lira. In 1686, theDuke Ranuccio II FarneseofParmacommissioned aPietàfor a new Capuchin convent. In 1687-8 Ricci decorated the apartments of the Parmense Duchess inPiacenzawith canvases recounting the life of the Farnese pope,Paul III.

Turin and return to Venice

[edit]
Venus and Adonis

Apparently in 1688, Ricci abandoned his wife and daughter, and fled from Bologna toTurinwith Magdalen, the daughter of the painterGiovanni Peruzzini.He was again imprisoned, and nearly executed, but was eventually freed by the intercession of the Duke of Parma. The duke employed him and assigned him a monthly salary of 25 crowns and lodging in theFarnese palaceinRome.In 1692, he was commissioned to copy theCoronation of CharlemagnebyRaphaelinVatican City,on behalf ofLouis XIV,a task he finished only by 1694.

The death of the Duke Ranuccio in December, 1694, who was also his protector, forced Ricci to abandon Rome forMilan,where by November 1695 he completed frescoes in the Ossuary Chapel of the Church of San Bernardino dei Morti. On 22 June 1697, the Count Giacomo Durini hired him to paint in theCathedral of Monza.

In 1698, he returned to the Venetian republic for a decade. By 24 August 1700, he had frescoed the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento in thechurch of Santa GiustinaofPadua.In 1701, the Venetian geographerVincenzo Coronellicommissioned a canvas of theAscensionthat was inserted into the ceiling of sacristy of theBasilica of the Santi Apostoliin Rome. In 1702, he frescoed the ceiling of the Blue Hall in theSchönbrunn Palace,with theAllegory of the Princely VirtuesandLove of Virtue,which illustrated the education and dedication of future emperorJoseph I.In Vienna,Frederick August II,the electorSaxony,requested anAscensioncanvas, in part to convince others of the sincerity of his conversion to Catholicism, which allowed him to become theKing of Poland.

In Venice in 1704 he executed a canvas ofSan Procolo (Saint Proculus)for the Dome ofBergamoand aCrucifixionfor the Florentine church of San Francisco de Macci.

Florentine frescoes

[edit]

In the summer of 1706, he traveled toFlorence,where he completed a work that is by many considered his masterpieces. During his Florentine stay he first completed a large fresco series on allegorical and mythological themes for the now-calledMarucelli-FenziorPalazzo Fenzi(now housing departments ofUniversity of Florence). After this work, Ricci, along with thequadraturistaGiuseppe Tonelli,was commissioned by the Grand DukeFerdinando de' Medicito decorate rooms in thePitti Palace,where hisVenus takes Leave from Adoniscontains heavenly depictions that are airier and brighter than prior Florentine fresco series. These works gained him fame and requests from foreign lands and showed the rising influence of Venetian painting into other regions of Italy. He was to influence the FlorentineRococofresco painterGiovanni Domenico Ferretti.

In 1708 he returned to Venice, completing aMadonna with the ChildforSan Giorgio Maggiore.In 1711, now painting alongside his nephew,Marco Ricci,he painted two canvases:Esther to AssueroandMoses saved from the Nile,for theTaverna Palace.

Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, circa 1705. (High Museum of Art)

London and Paris

[edit]
The apse of the chapel, Royal Hospital Chelsea, showing Ricci's painting of the Resurrectionc. 1710–15
Diana and Her Dog

He ultimately accepted foreign patronage in London, when he was provided a £770 commission byLord Burlingtonfor eight canvases, to be completed by him and his nephew Marco, depicting mythological frolics:Cupid and Jove,Bacchus meets Ariadne,Diana and Nymphs,Bacchus and Ariadne,Venus and Cupid,Diane and Endymion,and aCupid and Flora.

Bacchus and Ariadne

He decorated the chapel atBulstrode HousenearGerrards CrossforHenry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portlandwith a cycle of wall-paintings depicting scenes from the life of Christ.George Vertuedescribed the scheme as "a Noble free invention. great force of lights and shade, with variety & freedom, in the composition of the parts". The chapel was demolished in the 19th century, but oilmodellistill exist.[1]Ricci also designed stained glass for theDuke of Chandos' chapel atCannons.Inc. 1710–15 Ricci painted the apse in the chapel at theRoyal Hospital Chelseaof theresurrection.

By the end of 1716, with his nephew, he left England for Paris, where he metWatteau,and submitted hisTriumph of the Wisdom over Ignorancein order to gain admission to theRoyal French Academy of Painting and Sculpture,which was granted on 18 May 1718. He returned to Venice in 1718 a wealthy man, and bought comfortable lodgings in the OldProcuratory of St. Mark.That same year, the Riccis decorated the villa ofGiovanni Francesco Bemboin Belvedere, nearBelluno. In 1722 he was one of twelve artists commissioned to contribute a painting on canvas of one of the apostles as part of a decorative scheme at the church of St Stae in Venice. The other artists involved included Tiepolo, Piazetti, and Pellegrini.[2]

Vision der Hl. Therese von Avila Kunsthistorisches Museum

Last years

[edit]

From 1724 to 1729, Ricci worked intensely for the RoyalHouse of Savoyin Turin. In 1724 he painted theRejection of Agarand theSilenus adores the Idols,in 1725, theMadonna in Gloria,inTurinin 1726, he completedSusanna presented to DanielandMoses causes water to gush from the rock.In October 1727 he was admitted to theClementine Academyof Venice.

Ricci's style developed a following among other Venetian artists, influencingFrancesco Polazzo,Gaspare Diziani,Francesco Migliori,Gaetano Zompini,andFrancesco Fontebasso(1709–1769).[3]

He died in Venice on 15 May 1734.

Veronese copies

[edit]
Fake portrait ofPalladioattributed toVeronese,frontispiece toThe Architecture of A. Palladio,1715, engraved byBernard Picartafter Ricci

Ricci made many copies from the works ofPaolo Veronese,both of individual heads and of whole compositions. Some of these copies of heads were bought by George III. The king also bought a painting of theFinding of Moseswhich his agent, Joseph Smith, claimed was a Veronese, although this too had been painted by Ricci, either as a pastiche of Veronese's style, or a copy of a work now lost.[4]Ricci painted a supposed portrait ofAndrea Palladio,attributed to Veronese and engraved byBernard Picartfor the frontispiece of the first English edition (1715) of Palladio'sFour Books of Architecture.According toRudolf Wittkower,it does not depict Palladio, but rather is entirely the invention of Ricci.[5]

Critical assessments

[edit]

"Ricci, leaning at first on the example of splendid art of theVeronese,made a new ideal prevail, one of clear and rich coloristic beauty: in this he paved the way forTiepolo.The painting of figures of theRoccocoto Venice remains incomprehensible in its evolution without Ricci... Tiepolo germinated the work started by Ricci to such a richness and splendor that it leaves Ricci in the shadows... although Sebastiano is recognized in the combative role of forerunner "(Derschau).

"He is the master of a resurrected-fifteenth century style, whose painterly features are enriched with nervous express and, typically 17th century" (Rudolf Wittkower). Wittkower in his Anthology, contrasts the facile luminous style of Ricci with the darker, more emotional intense painting ofPiazzetta.Like Tiepolo, Ricci was an international artist; Piazzetta was local.

"We perceive in him that synthesis of thebaroquedecorativeness and individualized and substantial painting, that we will see later again in Tiepolo. On one side the influence ofCortona,directed and indirect, and on the other the observant painting of the hermitMagnasco;more intense, substantial and freed academic impulses, the airy, shining influences become, to the open air, magical coves, as well as gloomy corners. A new synthesis that opened wide new painting horizons, even if the scene is not that of a ballet, it is felt like bing in the wonders of the color, in more vibrating, acute, agile accents "(Moschini).

"At the start of the Baroque..Venetians remained isolated from the outside…from the great ideas of the baroque painting… The Ricci are the first traveling Venetian painters... and succeed to inaugurate the so-called roccoco rooms of Pitti and Marucelli palaces." (Roberto Longhi).

Ricci "brought back in the Venetian tradition a wealth of chromatic expression resolved in a new vibrating brilliance brightness…by means of the intelligent interpretation of the Veronese chromatics and of the brushstrokes of aMagnasco-like touch, from the 16th century impediments, he takes unfashionable positions against "tenebrous styles", is against the new Piazzetta –Federico Bencovich.He supplied a valid painterly idiom for... Tiepolo to use after his defection from the Piazzettism "(Pallucchini).

"Venice, still more than Naples, collects the Ricci inheritance of the prodigioso trade ofLuca Giordano... Sebastiano throws again it, widens he then, refines it for the school ofSebastiano Mazzoni"(Argan)

Venus and Satyr
(between 1659 and 1734)
Allegory with Figures of Hope, Time, and Death (between 1659 and 1734)

Works/Gallery

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"The Baptism of Christ Sebastiano Ricci (Italian, Belluno 1659–1734 Venice)".Metropolitan Museum of Art.Retrieved3 December2012.
  2. ^Giambattista Tiepolo 1698–17701996,p. 41.
  3. ^Wittkower 1993,p. 481.
  4. ^Giambattista Tiepolo 1698–17701996,p. 131.
  5. ^Nash 1999, pp. 1347–1349; Wittkower 1974, p. 82, cited by Nash.
  6. ^"Ricci, Sebastiano".Web Gallery of Art.Retrieved2015-03-10.

Sources

[edit]
  • Free translation from Italian Wikipedia entry
  • Giambattista Tiepolo 1698–1770(Exhibition catalogue). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1996.
  • Nash, Paul W.; Savage, Nicholas (1999).Early Printed Books 1478–1840: Catalogue of the British Architectural Library, Early Imprints Collection.London: Bowker-Saur.ISBN9781857390186.
  • Rizzi, Aldo.Sebastiano Ricci disegnatore,Electa – Milano 1975
  • Rizzi, Aldo.Sebastiano Ricci,Electa – Milano 1989
  • Wittkower, Rudolf (1974).Palladio and English Palladianism.London: Thames and Hudson.ISBN9780500850015.
  • Wittkower, Rudolf(1993).Art and Architecture in Italy, 1600–1750.Penguin Books. pp. 480–82.
[edit]

Media related toSebastiano Ricciat Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sebastiano_Ricci&oldid=1244551210"