Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato facts for kids
Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (born August 25, 1609 – died August 8, 1685) was an Italian painter from the Baroque period. He is famous for painting in a style similar to the great artist Raphael. People often called him just "Sassoferrato," which was common back then, like how da Vinci and Caravaggio were known by their hometowns.
About Sassoferrato's Life
We don't know many details about Giovanni Battista Salvi's life. He was born in a small town called Sassoferrato in central Italy, located between Rome and Florence.
Sassoferrato learned to paint from his father, Tarquinio Salvi. You can still see some of Tarquinio's paintings in the church of Saint Francis in Sassoferrato. We don't have many records about the rest of Giovanni's training. However, many art experts believe he studied with Domenichino, a student of Annibale Carracci. Other artists like Francesco Albani and Guido Reni also influenced Sassoferrato's work. Some even think Reni was as important to Sassoferrato's learning as Domenichino was. His paintings also show influences from artists like Albrecht Dürer, Guercino, and especially Raphael. He might have also met Pierre Mignard in Rome in the 1630s, who also influenced his art.
Sassoferrato didn't get many big public art jobs. Instead, like the artist Carlo Dolci, he focused on making many copies of religious paintings for people who wanted them for their homes. This was popular because of the Counter-Reformation, a time when the Catholic Church wanted to bring people back to their faith. Besides his many smaller works, he painted some pieces for the Benedictine convent of San Pietro in Perugia in 1630. He also created a large altarpiece called La Madonna del Rosario for Santa Sabina in Rome in 1643. In 1683, a powerful church leader named Cardinal Chigi gave Sassoferrato's self-portrait to Cosimo III de' Medici, a very important person in Florence.
Sassoferrato passed away in 1685. His will, which is a legal document about his wishes, is dated June 29 of that year.
Sassoferrato's Artworks
Sassoferrato's paintings were highly valued until the mid-1800s. People sometimes even thought his works were from the same time as Raphael's famous "School of Raphael." However, by the late 1800s, people started to dislike overly sweet religious art. This was especially true in England, partly because of the art critic John Ruskin.
In the late 1900s, there was a new interest in Italian Baroque art that looked back to older styles. Artists like Guido Reni became very popular, and this also led to more interest in Sassoferrato's paintings at art auctions.
As of 2006, there are over three hundred of Sassoferrato's artworks in public collections around the world. Almost all of his surviving drawings are kept in the British Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.
Sassoferrato also made copies of other artists' paintings. He didn't just copy them exactly; he often changed the original pictures or their sizes to make them his own.
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Saint Cecilia, Museo Poldi Pezzoli
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Madonna with Child, Rijksmuseum
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Ottaviano Prati, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
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The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine of Alexandria, The Wallace Collection
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Madonna with Child and Angels, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
Images for kids
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Virgin Mary in Prayer, National Gallery
See also
In Spanish: Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato para niños
