Belisario Corenzio

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Circumcisio Domini , Fresco of Corenzio in the crypt of the Cathedral of Salerno

Belisario Corenzio (* 1558 in Achaia , Greece ; † 1646 in Naples , Italy ) was an Italian painter of Greek origin who belonged to the Neapolitan school .

Life

The biography of Belisario Corenzio is overshadowed by various anecdotes , particularly circulated by his later biographer Bernardo De Dominici ( Vite de pittori… napolitani , 1744), which portray Corenzio as a seedy and corrupt personality - an unscrupulous person who was greedy for power and jealousy did not shrink from intrigues and threats, and not even from murder. De Dominici claimed that every painter in Naples who wanted to lead a quiet life allegedly gladly ceded his own assignments to Corenzio, "out of fear ... of this bad man who was known everywhere as terrible as the incarnate" (" per timore ... di quell'uomo maligno, da per tutto conosciuto terribile, e facinoroso “).

Little or nothing is known about Corenzio's training, De Dominici and Paolo de Matteis claimed that he had learned from Tintoretto in Venice, but later adopted the style of Cavalier d'Arpino (Giuseppe Cesari), who carried out some work in Naples (including the Certosa di San Martino ). An apprenticeship with Tintoretto is, however, improbable or refuted by the fact that the 88-year-old Corenzio himself testified in 1646 that he had lived in Naples for 76 years. Accordingly, he would have come to Naples when he was about 12 years old, i.e. around 1570.

Ceiling frescoes in the sacristy of the Basilica della SS Annunziata Maggiore, Naples

The first documents on Corenzio's painterly activity date from 1590, when he was already 32 years old and painted “all the frescoes, in the dome and in the choir” in SS. Annunziata in Naples. A large part of it was destroyed in a fire in 1757, only the frescoes in the sacristy and in the Cappella del tesoro have survived, but difficult to assess due to later repainting. He worked in the church of San Gennaro in San Martirio from 1591 to 1592 - these frescoes, which De Dominicis praised, have not survived, they were painted over by Battistello Caracciolo 40 years later .

In the last decade of the 16th century, Corenzio also created frescoes in San Paolo Maggiore , which were unanimously praised by early biographers as his main work (among others by Celano 1692) - according to Matteis, he had the "applause of the whole world" ( tutto l'applauso universale ) harvested. However, these frescoes were destroyed during World War II, just like his works in Montecassino Abbey .

From 1591 to 1596 Corenzio worked in Sant'Andrea delle Dame , where he painted the ceiling (now lost) and many other scenes on the walls (preserved); a few years later (1599–1600) he also frescoed the atrium, the refectory and the cemetery of the nuns of Sant'Andrea (preserved). These are among the few still intact and therefore most important works by Corenzio, together with the frescoes in the Monte di Pietà in Naples (1601) and in the chapter house of the Certosa di San Martino (1591 to 1636). For decades, from 1603 to 1621, he also worked in the Church of Santa Maria la Nova (Naples).

He also created secular works in some noble palaces, including the Palazzo Carafa di Maddaloni , and in the palazzi of the Dukes of Airola and the Caracciolo d'Avellino. In the Casa Massimo in Barra he painted “Stories of the Ancient Romans”. His famous frescoes in the Palazzo Sanseverino di Sangro were destroyed in 1895 when a wing of the palace collapsed.

According to Abbate, Corenzio's probably last work is the frescoes in the Chiesa della Sapienza in Naples, which were created between 1639 and 1641.

According to De Dominici, Belisario Corenzio acquired great fortune through his painting in the course of his life, lived on a large scale, and was promoted to Cavalier di San Giorgio. He often gave banquets for the “ Professori della pittura ” (professors of painting), and was often accompanied by a regular retinue of smaller, ordinary painters.

On June 1, 1630, the 72-year-old Corenzio was involved in a crime when the deputies of the Capella di San Gennaro in the cathedral of Naples sent a petition to the viceroy : Guido Reni had been sent to Naples to paint the chapel . However, after his servant was attacked and injured, Reni fled the city, and the captured attacker claimed (under torture  ?) That he had acted on behalf of Belisario Corenzio. However, he was acquitted of the prosecution for lack of evidence. Before and after Reni, the Cavalier d'Arpino and Francesco Gessi (one of Reni's employees) were driven out of Naples because of the painting of the Cappella del Tesoro - with the help of death threats, for which De Dominici also blames Belisario Corenzio. As a substitute for Reni and the others, Domenichino was finally turned to , who, as soon as he was in Naples, received threatening letters trying to discourage him so that he would not accept the job. The deputies of the Capella di San Gennaro considered these threats only “a strategy or a trick by some painter” (“ stradagemma di alcun pittore ”); Dominichino was not intimidated and carried out the commission. This entire case, and the accusations of early biographers (such as De Dominici), was later misinterpreted and damaged Corenzio's reputation, but it has not been established that these threats actually came from him.

Grave slab of Belisario Corenzio with Greek inscription on the floor by SS Severino e Sossio , Naples

Paolo de Matteis and De Domenici also pass on the anecdote that Corenzio wanted to do some repair work on his ceiling frescoes in the church of Santi Severino e Sossio in 1643, at the age of 85 , because some painters (including his pupil Massimo Stanzione ) found 'mistakes' in them and therefore laughed at him; he fell from a rack and died as a result. This story has meanwhile been refuted as invented: Today it is considered proven that he still lived in 1646 and retired to Frusinate (today: Esperia ), where he became a member of the Brotherhood of Saints Peter and Paul of the Greeks ( Ss.Pietro e Paolo dei Greci ) was.

After his death, Belisario Corenzio received a solemn burial and was actually buried in Santi Severino e Sossio in Naples, where his tombstone has been preserved to this day (see picture).

He had many students, including Luigi Rodriguez (or Rodrigo), whom, according to De Dominici, he allegedly poisoned himself out of envy and fear that he would surpass him; this episode too has not been proven and, according to Abbate, most likely fictitious.

Other students were the aforementioned Massimo Stanzione, the brothers Onofrio di Leone and Andrea di Leone , and Michele Regolia.

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Wedding at Cana , fresco in Salerno Cathedral

“He created so many works that it seems unbelievable that one artist could finish as much on his own as four ordinary painters could have struggled to do together.

' Son tante le opere sue che non par credibile aver potuto un solo artefice tante condurne a fine, che quattro solleciti dipintori appena potrebbero tutti insieme condurle '. "

- Bernardo De Dominici : Vite de pittori, scultori e architetti napolitani, vol. II , 1744, p. 71

Corenzio's work is generally classified as Late Mannerism . During his lifetime he was extremely successful as a fresco painter and created a very extensive work, especially in many Neapolitan churches . His contemporary C. D'Engenio Caracciolo called him in 1623 a “famous Neapolitan painter who is currently highly praised” (“ illustrious pittore napoletano, che di presente vive con molta sua lode ”). According to De Domenici (1744), Paolo De Matteis described him as a “virtuoso” and “good painter” but “unbalanced” ( disuguale ), which is why some of his works are considered to be the best, but others are weak. Massimo Stanzione is said to have coined the term " Pittore copioso ma non scelto " ("hardworking but not exquisite painter") for him, and he and others are said to have found errors in Corenzio's works in the last years of his life, among others. a. in Santi Severino e Sossio; As a result, Corenzio lost some respect in his environment. De Dominici, on the other hand, praised his lightness, his drawing, his ingenuity, his coloring, his multi-figure compositions, in which he gave each face completely different and individual features. On the other hand, however, his figures are too ordinary and do not have enough grace , especially with "noble " Subjects. Celano (1692) particularly valued Corenzio's early works, most of which, however, have not survived. The more modern art criticism has dealt with Corenzio very little and superficially, he is certified as a narrative talent, recognizes “ Tuscan influences” and characterizes him as “ spiritoso ” (witty) - in contrast to more emotional or more dramatic artists.

Belisario Corenzio painted only a few altarpieces in oil on canvas, including the Adoration of the Magi in the Chiesa dei Girolamini (Naples) and four panels in the SS Annunziata in Nola.

Frescoes in the sacristy of the Basilica della SS Annunziata Maggiore , Naples
Scenes from the Old Testament in the sacristy of the Basilica della SS Annunziata Maggiore , Naples

Works (selection):

  • Frescoes in Sant'Andrea delle Dame, 1591–1596 (partially preserved), a. a. Atrium, refectory and cemetery of the nuns, 1599–1600 (preserved)
  • Frescoes in San Gennaro in San Martirio , 1591–1592 (40 years later painted over by Battistello Caracciolo)
  • Frescoes in SS. Annunziata in Naples, in the dome and in the choir (destroyed), in the sacristy (preserved)
  • San Paolo Maggiore : tribune and vault above the high altar (destroyed), sacristy and capella del tesoro (poorly preserved or later painted over)
  • Frescoes in Monte di Pietà , Naples, 1601 (preserved)
  • Frescoes in Santa Maria la Nova , Naples, 1603–1621 (preserved)
  • Frescoes in the Palazzo Reale
  • Frescoes in the Palazzo del Principe di San Severo e Sangro (destroyed by collapse in 1895)
  • The "whole church" SS. Severino e Sossio (largely destroyed),
  • Frescoes in the convent of SS. Severino e Sossio (preserved; today: Archivio di Stato )
  • The Casa Professa dei Gesuiti and vaults in the Gesù Nuovo church (one of which fell during the earthquake in 1688)
  • Chapter house of the Certosa di San Martino , 1591 to 1636 (preserved)
  • Frescoes in Montecassino , u. a. Dome (destroyed in World War II)
  • Chiesa della Sapienza , Naples, 1639–1641

literature

  • "Corenzio, Belisario", in: Lexikon der Kunst , Vol. 3, Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1994, pp. 271-272.
  • Bernardo De Dominici: "Vita di Belisario Corenzio Pittore", in: Vite de pittori, scultori e architetti napolitani, vol. II , 1744, reprint: Bologna, 1979, pp. 292–318, online as an ebook , last viewed on September 26, 2015. (Italian)
  • Giovanni Rosini: Storia della pittura italiana esposta coi monumenti , Pisa, presso N. Capurro, 1846, p. 197, online , viewed September 24, 2018 (Italian)
  • Francesco Abbate: “CORENZIO, Belisario”, in: Dizionario degl'italiani, vol. 29 , 1983, pp. 65-68, online , viewed September 26, 2018 (Italian)
  • Jane Turner (Ed.): The Grove Dictionary of Art, volume 7 , New York, 1996, p. 848. ISBN 1-884446-00-0 (English)
  • Pierluigi Leone De Castris: Pittura del Cinquecento a Napoli, 1573-1606: l'ultima maniera, volume 3 , Napoli, Electa, 1991/2001. ISBN 88-510-0017-4 (SBN = IT \ ICCU \ NAP \ 0014086) (Italian)
  • Felice Enrico Napolitano (historical advice): Il restauro degli affreschi del Tempietto di Liveri alla Immacolata Regina delle Vittorie , Santuario di Santa Maria a Parete, 2001. (Italian)

Web links

Commons : Belisario Corenzio  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq Francesco Abbate: "CORENZIO, Belisario ”, in: Dizionario biografico degl'italiani, vol. 29 , 1983, pp. 65–68, online , last viewed on September 26, 2018
  2. ↑ a b c “Corenzio, Belisario”, in: Lexikon der Kunst , Vol. 3, Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1994, pp. 271–272.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Bernardo De Dominici: "Vita di Belisario Corenzio Pittore", in: Vite de pittori, scultori e architetti napolitani, vol. II , 1744, Bologna, 1979, pp. 292-318, online as ebook , here: p. 316
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Bernardo De Dominici: "Vita di Belisario Corenzio Pittore", in: Vite de pittori, scultori e architetti napolitani, vol. II , Bologna, 1979, pp. 292-318, online as ebook , here: p. 315
  5. ↑ Bernardo De Dominici: "Vita di Belisario Corenzio Pittore", in: Vite de pittori, scultori e architetti napolitani, vol. II , 1744, Bologna, 1979, pp. 292-318, online as an ebook , here: p. 301
  6. ↑ a b Bernardo De Dominici: "Vita di Belisario Corenzio Pittore", in: Vite de pittori, scultori e architetti napolitani, vol. II, Bologna, 1979, pp. 292-318, online as an ebook , here: p. 314
  7. ↑ Bernardo De Dominici: "Vita di Belisario Corenzio Pittore", in: Vite de pittori, scultori e architetti napolitani, vol. II, Bologna, 1979, pp. 292-318, online as an ebook , here: pp. 316-317
personal data
SURNAME Corenzio, Belisario
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Corenzio, Bellisario
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian fresco painter
DATE OF BIRTH 1558
PLACE OF BIRTH Achaia , Greece
DATE OF DEATH 1646
Place of death Naples , Italy