Giovanni Battista Crescenzi

Giovanni Battista Crescenzi (born January 17, 1577 in Rome , † March 17, 1635 in Madrid ) was an Italian architect and painter of the early Baroque . He worked first in Rome, especially in the papal construction supervision, and then in Madrid in Spain as a builder. He came from a leading family in Rome, the Crescentier dynasty that ruled Rome at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th centuries . His brother was the Cardinal Pietro Paolo Crescenzi (1572-1645).

Giovanni Battista Crescenzi was married to Anna Massima, their son Alessandro Agostino was elevated to cardinal in 1675. The curriculum vitae of Giovanni Battista Crescenzi is well documented, as it is contained in the collection of artist biographies of Roman painters of the early Baroque, written by the painter and art writer Giovanni Baglione in 1642.

Work in Rome until 1617

Giovanni Battista Crescenzi, like his brother, was taught painting and graphics by the Tuscan painter Cristoforo Roncalli (1552–1626) and was then involved in the design of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome after 1605 . He came to some prominence during the reign of Pope Paul V , especially as the Pope's architect charged with overseeing building projects. His origins and artistic training also enabled him to act as a mediator between painters and private clients and to develop a mediator role in the art market that is in transition towards private collectors. He took on the task of overseeing the delivery and quality of the commissioned work he was responsible for, and brokered Italian paintings for collectors across Europe. However, there was still a patronage relationship between Crescenzi, his artists and the client, and Crescenzi was only an intermediary and advisory agent and not, as was customary later, an independent art agent on behalf of the professional artist. However, the development and functioning of an early modern art business can be viewed in its role.

Work in Spain from 1617

Giovanni Battista Crescenzi went from Rome to Madrid in 1617, where he continued his work as an intermediary and, for example, delivered selected paintings to the collection of the English royal family in 1631. He also inspired the Spanish King Philip III. for still life . The acquisition of a still life by Juan Sánchez Cotán by the king in 1618 and the appointment of Juan van der Hamen y León to the court also went back to Crescenzi's influence . He also owned some still lifes by Juan van der Hamens. From 1620 he was involved, among other things, in the design of the palace of the Spanish kings, the Escorial , still known today primarily as the builder of the Pantheon, the gilded burial place of the Spanish royal family outside Madrid. He was also the builder of what is now the Foreign Ministry in Madrid, an important example of Spanish architecture at the beginning of the 17th century. The art style in Spain at that time was still mainly influenced by late Renaissance art, in architecture mainly by the Herrera style . However, the architects in Creszcenzi's time began to add new decorative details and slowly prepared the beginning of the Baroque as church art of the mid-17th century in Spain of the Counter-Reformation. Crescenzi brought with it Italian Mannerism, the transitional form between the Renaissance and the Baroque. The influence of Crescenzi on the development of architecture in Spain can be regarded as significant, already during his lifetime he was recognized for his work by Philip III. awarded the title of Marchese de la Torre by Spain and appointed Knight of the Order of Santiago .

Crescenzi and Velázquez

In 1627 the Spanish king initiated a painting competition and Giovanni Battista Crescenzi was appointed one of the two members of the jury. Velázquez was unanimously chosen as the winner and was then given priority among the court painters.

Images (selection)

Apparently none of Crescenzi's paintings that can be documented have survived. However, he was assigned drawings and other images, for example a pencil drawing of an Italian landscape and a good dozen still lifes with fruits in the style of Natura Morta in the typical Italian Baroque imagery on the transience of life , mostly still in private ownership today.

Pupil and successor

The Italian-born painter Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (1590–1625) was a student of Crescenzi and traveled to Spain in 1617 to support the work on the Escorial for a year.

Master of the Hartford Still Life?

Giovanni Battista Crescenzi is suggested as the identity of the not known master of the Hartford still life ; he was an Italian baroque painter who was active in Rome around 1590/1610 and painted lush still lifes in the style of natura morta , a baroque symbolic language to indicate the transience of being.

Master of the Acquavella Still Life?

Giovanni Battista Crescenzi is suggested as the identity of the master of the Acquavella still lifes , who is not known by name .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In: Giovanni Baglione: Le Vite de 'Pittori, Scultori, Architetti, ed Intagliatori dal Pontificato di Gregorio XII del 1572. fino a' tempi de Papa Urbano VIII. Nel 1642
2. ↑ see Marieke Von Bernstoff: Art Industry and Painting in the Early 17th Century. The case of Giovan Battista Crescenzi and Bartolomeo Cavarozzi . (Roman Studies of the Bibliotheca Hertziana, Volume 28), Munich 2010
3. ^ William B. Jordan: Juan van der Hamen y León & The Court of Madrid. Yale University Press, New Haven 2005. ISBN 0-300-11318-8 . P. 74.
4. ^ Auction house Karl & Faber: Auction Old Masters and 19th Century Art May 2008, lot 122
5. ↑ For example, Bild mit Feigen , Christie's London auction house: Important Old Masters auction & British Pictures Day Sale , July 2008, lot 232A
6. ↑ For example, Tavolo con ortaggi, vaso con fiori, uccello in volo . Museo Civico, Palazzo S. Gervasio, Potenza

literature

• Giovanni Baglione: Le Vite de 'Pittori, Scultori, Architetti, ed Intagliatori dal Pontificato di Gregorio XII del 1572. fino a' tempi de Papa Urbano VIII. Nel 1642 . Edition Naples 1733 (Italian)
• Rene Taylor: Juan Bautista Crescenzi . In: Academia, 48 (1979), p. 63ff. (Italian)
• Luigi Spezzaferro: Crescenzi, Giovanni Battista . In: Dizionario biografico degli Italiani. Rome 1984 (Italian)
• Marco Oupillo: Ricerche sui Crescenzi. Un generazione di nobili romani e il mondo artistico tra cinque e seicento . Milan 1996 (Italian)
• Marieke von Bernstoff: Art business and painting in the early 17th century. The case of Giovan Battista Crescenzi and Bartolomeo Cavarozzi . (Roman Studies of the Bibliotheca Hertziana, Volume 28), Munich 2010
• Gloria del Val Moreno: Giovanni Battista Crescenzi: problemas metodológicos en el análisis de su historiografía artística. In: Anales de Historia del Arte . Volume Extraordinario 2010, pp. 351–363 (Spanish)

Web links

• Giovanni Baglione: Giovanni Battista Passeri (ed.): Le Vite de 'Pittori, Scultori, Architetti, ed Intagliatori dal Pontificato di Gregorio XII del 1572. fino a' tempi de Papa Urbano VIII. Nel 1642 edition 1731 Naples; Digitized in google books.