Orazio Borgianni facts for kids

Orazio Borgianni (born April 6, 1574 – died January 14, 1616) was a talented Italian painter and artist who also made etchings. He lived during a time when art styles were changing, from Mannerism to the early Baroque period. He was the stepbrother of a famous sculptor and architect named Giulio Lasso.

Orazio Borgianni was born in Rome, Italy. He learned how to paint from his brother, Giulio Borgianni.

His Time in Spain

Borgianni traveled to Spain because Philip II of Spain supported his art. He was in Spain around 1604 and 1605. While there, he helped start an Italian-style art school. He also painted nine pictures for a church called Convento de Portacoeli in Valladolid, Spain, which are still there today.

Two of his paintings, St Christopher and The Stigmatization of St Francis, can be seen in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. There's also a painting believed to be a self-portrait of him when he was young. Another of his works, David and Goliath, is in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid.

Return to Rome and Later Works

After his time in Spain, Borgianni returned to Rome around 1605. This was a very important time in his career, and he created many of his best works between 1605 and 1616. In Rome, the Spanish ambassador became his patron, meaning he supported Borgianni's art. Borgianni also painted for many churches.

He created beautiful frescoes (wall paintings) in the church of San Silvestro in Capite in Rome. These include Martyrdom of S.Stefano I and Messengers of Constantine call on Saint Silvestro (painted around 1610).

His painting of San Carlo Borromeo (from 1612) in the church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane shows a mix of different art styles. You can see influences from the Accademia degli Incamminati (a famous art school) and also from a style called tenebrism, which uses strong contrasts between light and dark. The famous artist Caravaggio also influenced Borgianni, which you can see in another painting of the same saint (from 1616) now in the Hermitage Museum.

A lively self-portrait of Borgianni, showing him looking serious and a bit fancy, is in the Rome Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.

His Personality

According to his early biographer, Giovanni Baglione, Orazio Borgianni had a bit of a temper! One story says that while riding in a carriage in Rome, he saw some artists, including Caravaggio, laughing at him. He quickly jumped out, grabbed a bottle of varnish from a shop, and threw it at them!

His Etchings

Besides painting, Borgianni was also skilled at making etchings. These are prints made by carving a design into a metal plate. Some of his known etchings include:

• Resurrection
• A picture with many figures, called two Marys and St. John, from 1615.
• St. Christopher giving his hand to the Infant Jesus
• St. Christopher carrying the Infant on his Shoulder
• Fifty-two Bible histories, sometimes called Raphael's Bible.
• The dead Christ, shown from a unique angle, from 1615.

Images for kids

• 

  Orazio Borgianni's Self-Portrait. Oil on canvas, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, 1615.

• 

  Christ amongst the Doctors

• 

  Orazio Borgianni's St. Carlo Borromeo. Oil on canvas, private collection.

• 

  San Carlo Borromeo (between 1610 and 1616)

• 

  Head of an Old Woman (after 1610)

• 

  Saint Christopher, Prado Museum.

See also

In Spanish: Orazio Borgianni para niños