Gaetano Gandolfi
{{Short description|Italian painter (1734–1802)}}
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - Self-portrait with easel.jpg
Gaetano Gandolfi (31 August 1734 – 20 June 1802) was an Italian painter, draughtsman and sculptor of the late Baroque period, mainly active in and around Bologna. He is known for his biblical, mythological and allegorical subjects, as well as his portraits and nudes. He was both a painter on canvas and a fresco painter. Gaetano and his older brother Ubaldo were among the leading artists in Italy during their lifetime. This reputation was earned by the excellent quality of their work, which lead to numerous major commissions from courts all over Europe.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090206075036/http://net.comune.cento.fe.it/gandolfi//i_gandolfi.htm Gaetano e Ubaldo Gandolfi - Opere scelte], Cento (FE) - 13 Aprile - 16 Giugno - 2002 (in Italian)
Career
Gaetano was born in San Matteo della Decima, near Bologna on an estate in the Po Valley that his father managed on behalf of a landowner. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ubaldo, and enrolled at the Accademia Clementina in Bologna, where he won several prizes for portraiture and sculpture.[http://web.archive.org/web/20241004022425/http://matthiesengallery.com/artist/gandolfi-gaetano Gaetano Gandolfi], on the Matthiesen Gallery website The Gandolfi family produced a number of prominent artists, including Gaetano's older brother, Ubaldo and his sons Giovanni Battista and Ubaldo Lorenzo, as well as his own son Mauro and grandchildren Democrito (who was a pupil of Antonio Canova) and Clementina. The Gandolfi family are considered to be the last representatives of the grand manner of the Bolognese school of painting, which had established itself almost two centuries earlier with the group of painters trained by the Carracci.The Bolognese school of painting focused on realistic depictions of human anatomy and drawing from live models.[https://learn.ncartmuseum.org/artwork/mercury-about-to-behead-argus Ubaldo Gandolfi, ‘’Mercury About to Behead Argus‘’], on the website of the North Carolina Museum of Art (in English)
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - Allegory of Beauty.jpg
In his autobiography, Gaetano claimed Felice Torelli (1667–1748) as his master. Other sources mention Ercole Graziani the Younger (1688–1765) and Ercole Lelli. These masters instilled in Gaetano the importance of anatomical precision in his works. He travelled to England in 1788. Tiepolo and the original style of his older brother Ubaldo were important influences on his work. Later in his career, Gaetano's art became increasingly neoclassical. At this time, both stylistically and thematically, he seemed well acquainted with the work of Corrado Giaquinto and the artistic currents in France in the 1760s.
Gaetano died in Bologna, playing pétanque on the grounds of the church of Sant'Egidio, probably of a heart attack. There is another tradition which claims he was hit in the head by a bullet. Among his pupils was Serafino Viani from Reggio.[https://books.google.com/books?id=u6EuAAAAYAAJ Memorie storiche dei Reggiani più illustri nelle scienze, nelle lettere, e nelle Arti], by Enrico Manzini; Tipografia Degani e Gasparini, Reggio Emilia (1878); pages 1.
Collections
Today, Gaetano's work is held in the permanent collections of several museums worldwide, including the Cooper Hewitt,{{Cite web|title=Gaetano Gandolfi {{!}} People {{!}} Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/35456097/objects/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=collection.cooperhewitt.org}} the Detroit Institute of Arts,{{Cite web|title=Venus Ordering Armor for Aeneas at Vulcan's Forge|url=https://www.dia.org/art/collection/object/venus-ordering-armor-aeneas-vulcans-forge-106973|access-date=2021-04-23|website=www.dia.org|language=en}} the Norton Museum of Art,{{Cite web|last=OctoberCMS|title=Norton Museum of Art {{!}} European|url=https://www.norton.org/collections/european|access-date=2021-04-23|website=www.norton.org}} the Snite Museum of Art,{{Cite web|title=Snite Museum of Art {{!}} Western Arts — Rejection|url=http://publications.snitemuseum.org/p1676105/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Snite Museum of Art {{!}} Western Arts}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} the University of Michigan Museum of Art,{{Cite web|title=Exchange: Studies of Girls' Heads|url=https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/20859/view|access-date=2021-04-23|website=exchange.umma.umich.edu}} the British Museum,{{Cite web|title=drawing {{!}} British Museum|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1946-0713-110|access-date=2021-04-23|website=The British Museum|language=en}} the LACMA,{{Cite web|title=Gaetano Gandolfi {{!}} LACMA Collections|url=https://collections.lacma.org/node/159511|access-date=2021-04-23|website=collections.lacma.org}} the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest,{{Cite web|title=Pentecost|url=https://www.mfab.hu/artworks/pentecost-2/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest|language=en-US}} the Toledo Museum of Art,{{Cite web|title=Saint Camillus of Lellis Adoring a Crucifixion|url=http://emuseum.toledomuseum.org:8080/objects/78209/saint-camillus-of-lellis-adoring-a-crucifixion;jsessionid=089BD2D4F7209976B2841F9CC4E9BF27|access-date=2021-04-23|website=emuseum.toledomuseum.org|language=en}} and the Victoria and Albert Museum.{{Cite web|last=Museum|first=Victoria and Albert|title=Vulcan at his forge {{!}} Gaetano Gandolfi {{!}} V&A Explore The Collections|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O613697/vulcan-at-his-forge-drawing-gaetano-gandolfi/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections|language=en}}
Gallery
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - The Marriage at Cana - Walters 371919.jpg|The Marriage at Cana, 1766, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - The Liberation of Saint Peter - 1983.81 - Yale University Art Gallery.jpg|Liberation of St Peter, c. 1770 , Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - Judgement of Solomon.jpg |Judgement of Solomon, mid-1770s
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - Bust portrait of a young woman with her hair up.jpg|Bust portrait of a young woman with her hair up, 1777
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - Bust of bearded old man with bowed head.jpg|Bust of bearded old man with bowed head, 1777
File:'Joseph's Dream', painting by Gaetano Gandolfi, c. 1790.jpg|Joseph's Dream, c. 1790
File:Gaetano Gandolfi - Reclining Male Nude - 1962.19 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Reclining Male Nude, 1750, Cleveland Museum of Art
References
Further reading
- Biagi Maino, Donatella, Gaetano Gandolfi / Donatella Biagi Maino, Torino, U. Allemandi, 1995.
- Cazort, Mimi, Bella Pittura: The Art of the Gandolfi, Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, 1993.
- Cazort, Mimi, The Art of Embellishment: Drawings and Paintings by Gaetano and Mauro Gandolfi for a Festive Carriage, in Record of The Art Museum, Princeton University, Volume 52, Number 2, 1993.
- Rosasco, Betsy, Drawings by the Gandolfi Family and Their Followers in The Art Museum: A Checklist, in Record of The Art Museum, Princeton University, Volume 52, Number 2, 1993.
- Vicenza, Neri Pozza, I Gandolfi: Ubaldo, Gaetano, Mauro, disegni e dipinti, Neri Pozza Editore, 1987.
External links
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Category:18th-century Italian painters
Category:Italian male painters
Category:19th-century Italian painters
Category:19th-century Italian male artists
Category:Painters from Bologna
Category:Italian Baroque painters