Monday, 20 March 2023

Annibale Carracci - part 3

1603-04 Self-Portrait at the Easel
oil on wood panel 42.5 x 30 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

"Neither clean nor well-dressed, with his collar askew, his hat jammed on any old way and his unkempt beard, Annibale Carracci seemed to be like an ancient philosopher, absent-minded and alone," wrote an early biographer. A tailor's son, Carracci considered himself a craftsman, not a courtier, but the Romans buried him in the Pantheon beside Raphael.

Along with his older brother Agostino and his cousin Lodovico, Annibale founded the Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the Progressives) in Bologna, which focused on naturalism and rejected Mannerism. There they revived the practice of working from life, focusing on the craft of art rather than the elegant life of court painters. The Carracci were tireless observers. Scholars credit Annibale with teaching caricature and helping to revive the process of creating extensive preparatory drawings for paintings.

Between 1597 and 1601, Carracci worked on the gallery ceiling of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, his most important legacy. Conceiving the ceiling as open to the sky, he painted its mythological love scenes as framed easel pictures within an illusionistic framework. After receiving a paltry five hundred lire for this extensive decoration, he suffered a breakdown. A prolific draftsman, Carracci derived his heroic figure style from antique sculpture and Michelangelo and Raphael's art, but he added a richness and buoyancy from his copious studies from life. He originated the "ideal landscape," with figures, buildings, and nature in perfect balance, a nature tamed and ennobled by man's presence.

J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles


This is part 3 of a 6-part series on the works of Annibale Carracci:


before 1593 Madonna and Child (After Agostino Carracci)
etching and engraving 15.3 x 11 cm (plate)
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

1593 Crawling Male Figure (Study for Cacus)
charcoal or soft black chalk, highlighted with traces of white chalk, on blue-grey paper 38.5 x 49.9 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1593 The Resurrection of Christ
oil on canvas 216 x 160 cm
Louvre, Paris

1593-94 The Virgin and Child in the Clouds
 (Madonna of Bologna)
oil on canvas 150.5 x 109.5 cm
Christ Church, University of Oxford, UK

c1596 The Mocking of Christ
oil on canvas 60 x 69.5 cm
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Italy

1597 Christ of Caprarola
etching, with engraving and drypoint, on ivory laid paper
12.4 x 16 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1597-98 Christ in Glory
oil on canvas 194 x 142 cm
Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy

1597-1600 Marsyas and Olympus
oil on wood panel 34.4 x 84.2 cm
The National Gallery, London

1597-1600 Silenus gathering Grapes
oil and egg on wood panel 54.5 x 88.5 cm
The National Gallery, London

1597-1600 The Drunken Silenus ("The Tazza Farnese")
engraving 26.3 diameter
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

1597-1600 Young Satyr gathering Grapes
oil and egg on wood panel 54.5 x 88.5 cm
The National Gallery, London

c1597-1600 Satyr Holding a Roundel
black chalk on grey-blue paper 38.3 x 25.9 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

c1597-1600 The Drunken Silenus (Tazza Farnese)
engraving printed from shallow silver cup 25.3 cm diameter
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1597-1602 Pan and Diana
fresco
Galleria Farnese, Palazzo Farnese, Rome

c1597-1602 Triton Sounding a Conch Shell
charcoal or soft black chalk on blue-grey paper 38.8 x 24.3 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

c1597 The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne
fresco
Palazzo Farnese, Rome (see below)

c1597 The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne
fresco
Palazzo Farnese, Rome

1598-99 Study for an Ignudo
black chalk heightened with white on faded blue paper
37.7 x 32.5 cm (sheet)
 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia)

c1598-1600 Christ Crowned with Thorns
details not given
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna

c1598 Christ appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot during his Temptation
oil on copper 49.5 x 34.4 cm
The National Gallery, London

1599-1600 Pietà
oil on canvas 156 x 149 cm
Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

1599-1600 The Drunken SiIenus: Design for the "Tazza Farnese"
pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk 25.6 x 25.5 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1599-1600 The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
oil on (canvas?) 12 cm Diameter
© Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

c1599-1600 The Madonna and Sleeping Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
black chalk, pen and brown ink 12.7 x 16.8 cm
(see below)

c1599-1600 The Madonna and Sleeping Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
oil on canvas 51.2 x 68.4 cm
Hampton Court Palace, London

1599-1601 Drunken Silenus and Decorative Sketches
pen and iron gall ink, with brush and brown wash on cream laid paper 28.4 x 17.7 cm overall
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1599-1601 Two Putti Fighting
pen and iron gall ink on cream laid paper with decorative border in pen and brown ink 28.4 x 17.7 cm overall
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1599-1604 Study of a Male Nude
chalk on paper 22.5 x 38 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

c1599 Mary Magdalene in a Landscape
oil on copper (size not given)
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK

before 1600 Angel
wash on paper 21.9 x 13 cm Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, MA
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

before 1600 Madonna
wash on paper 21.9 x 13 cm Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, MA
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

after1600 Hercules and Iole
graphite, with brush and grey wash, on ivory laid paper
27.5 x 22.6 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

after 1600 Satyr and Goat
red chalk on cream laid paper 17.5 x 18 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

c1600 Pietà
oil on canvas 156 x 149 cm
National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

c1600 Saint John the Baptist bearing Witness
oil on copper 54.3 x 43.5 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

c1600 Study of Triton blowing a Conch Shell
black and white chalk on paper 40.6 x 24.1 cm
J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA

c1600 The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
('The Montalto Madonna')
oil on copper 35 x 27.5 cm
The National Gallery, London

c1600 The Holy Women at Christ’s Tomb
oil on canvas 121 x 145.5 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

1600-02 Study for an Angel
charcoal or soft black chalk, highlighted with white chalk, on blue paper 36.9 x 24.8 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Friday, 17 March 2023

Annibale Carracci - part 2

c1590-1600 Self Portrait in Profile
oil on canvas 37.9 x 45.4 cm
Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Ital
y

"Neither clean nor well-dressed, with his collar askew, his hat jammed on any old way and his unkempt beard, Annibale Carracci seemed to be like an ancient philosopher, absent-minded and alone," wrote an early biographer. A tailor's son, Carracci considered himself a craftsman, not a courtier, but the Romans buried him in the Pantheon beside Raphael.

Along with his older brother Agostino and his cousin Lodovico, Annibale founded the Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the Progressives) in Bologna, which focused on naturalism and rejected Mannerism. There they revived the practice of working from life, focusing on the craft of art rather than the elegant life of court painters. The Carracci were tireless observers. Scholars credit Annibale with teaching caricature and helping to revive the process of creating extensive preparatory drawings for paintings.

Between 1597 and 1601, Carracci worked on the gallery ceiling of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, his most important legacy. Conceiving the ceiling as open to the sky, he painted its mythological love scenes as framed easel pictures within an illusionistic framework. After receiving a paltry five hundred lire for this extensive decoration, he suffered a breakdown. A prolific draftsman, Carracci derived his heroic figure style from antique sculpture and Michelangelo and Raphael's art, but he added a richness and buoyancy from his copious studies from life. He originated the "ideal landscape," with figures, buildings, and nature in perfect balance, a nature tamed and ennobled by man's presence.

J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles


This is part 2 of a 6-part series on the works of Annibale Carracci:


1585 Saint Francis of Assisi
engraving (size not given)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1585-87 Christ wearing the Crown of Thorns, supported by Angels
oil on canvas 85 x 100 cm
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany

1585-87 The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine
oil on canvas 160 x 128 cm
Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

c1585-87 Landscape with a Fortified Town in the Distance
pen and brown ink 28.6 x 42.5 cm
Rijksmueum, Amsterdam

c1585-90 A young man pulling on a sock
red chalk on paper 29.2 x 37.2 cm
© The Trustees of the British Museum, London

1585-1590 Portrait of a Boy
chalk on paper 26.7 x 17 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

c1585 Two Putti
red chalk and some black chalk on paper 18.9 x 17.6 cm
© The Trustees of the British Museum, London

1587 The Madonna of the Swallow
engraving on laid paper 15.5 x 12 cm (sheet)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1587 Virgin and Child with Saint Lucy and
the Young John the Baptist
oil on wood panel 78.5 x 63 cm
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

c1587 The Assumption of the Virgin
oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm
© Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

1588 Madonna Enthroned with Saint Matthew
oil on canvas 284 x 255 cm
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany

1588-90 Two Children teasing a Cat
oil on canvas 66 x 89 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

c1588-90 A monkey on a man's shoulders, study for a painting
red chalk on paper 17.4 x 17.9 cm
© The Trustees of the British Museum, London

c1588 Venus with a Satyr and Two Cupids
oil on canvas 112 x 142 cm
Uffizi Gallery, Florence

c1589 The Holy Family
oil on canvas 69.9 x 61 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

1590 The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist
etching and engraving 16.3 x 22 cm (plate)
Harvard Art Museums / Fogg Museum, MA
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

c1590-92 Head of an Old Man (attributed to Carracci)
oil on canvas 39.4 x 27.9 cm
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London

1590-95 Madonna and Child with an Angel
etching on laid paper 9.2 x 9.1 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1590-95 River Allegory
oil on canvas 108 x 94 cm
Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

1590-95 Susanna and the Elders
etching with engraving on ivory laid paper
32.4 x x 31.4 cm (image)
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1590-95 The Madonna and Child with an Apple
etching and engraving on laid paper 15.1 x 11 cm (sheet)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1590-95 Venus Adorned by the Graces
oil on panel transferred to canvas 133 x 170.5 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1590-95 Venus Adorned by the Graces detail

c1590-95 Landscape with Figures by an Estuary
with Sailing Boats
pen and brown ink on laid paper 11.2 x 18.6 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1590-1600 Head of a Woman Looking to Upper Left (attributed to)
charcoal, highlighted with white chalk, on blue paper faded light brown. 43 x 35.7 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

c1590 Assumption of the Virgin
oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

c1590 Chimney Sweep
pen, brown ink and wash, heightened with white, on paper 27.6 x 16.7 cm
National Galleries Scotland, UK

c1590 River Landscape
oil on canvas 88.3 x 148.1 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

c1590 River Landscape with Boats
pen and brown ink on light brown laid paper 22.3 x 40.5 cm
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

c1590 The Bean Eater
oil on canvas 57 x 68 cm
Galleria Colonna, Rome

c1590 Venus, Adonis and Cupid
oil on (canvas?) 212 x 268 cm
© Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

c1590 Venus, Adonis and Cupid detail

c1590 Venus, Adonis and Cupid detail

1591 Mary Magdalene in the Wilderness
etching and engraving (size not given)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1591 St. Jerome in the Wilderness
etching and engraving 25.4 x 19.1 cm (sheet)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

1592 Jupiter and Antiope
engraving 15.1 x 22.2 cm
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Germany

1592 Pan
oil on canvas 109 x 135 cm (six-sided frame)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

1592 The Virgin Appears to Sts Luke and Catherine
oil on canvas 401 x 226 cm
Louvre, Paris

1592 Venus and a Satyr "Jupiter and Antiope"
etching with engraving on laid paper 15.4 x 22.5 cm (plate)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1592-1602 Three Heads of Men
pen and brush on paper 21.6 x 18.3 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam