Abate Francesco Antonio Chiozzi (1730 - 7 March 1785) was an Italian painter and

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

cleric, active mainly in

Casalmaggiore Casalmaggiore ( Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, Lombardy, Italy, located on the Po River. It was the birthplace of Italian composers Ignazio Donati and Andrea Zani. Recently, its women's volleyball team Volleyb ...

, Italy.

Biography

He was born in

, and there was initially trained by a local priest Giuseppe Moreschi. Chiozzi then copied some works of Felice Torelli and by 1748 completed a Via Crucis for the church of San Giovanni Battista. In 1749, he completed a number of portraits for individuals in Casalmaggiore. Hoping to gain more expertise, he was placed the following year in a studio in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, soon working with

Vittorio Bigari Vittorio Bigari (1692 – 1776) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period. Biography He was born in Bologna in 1692. His main biographer was Zanotti. He was initially trained in the art of stucco and sculpture, a pupil of Antonio D ...

, and obtaining commissions to make copies of medallions in the possession of the

Aldrovandi Aldrovandi is a family name of the Emilia-Romagna in Italy, and especially famous for the aristocratic and Senatorial family from Bologna. The Palazzo Aldrovandi in central Bologna was built by the family. Among its famous members are: *Cardinal P ...

family. In Bologna, his ''Abraham expels Hagar and Ishmael'' won a first prize at the Clementine Academy of Fine Arts for figure. The following year for the Marsigliani prizes, he won second place for his ''Hercules slays the Dragon at the Golden Gate''. In 1753, he completed a ''Burial of St Stephen'' for a local church that had been started by Favagrossa. He made a copy of the ''Madonnina del Buon Consiglio'', originally by

Pellegrino Tibaldi San Sebastiano (Milan) Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527, Valsolda - 27 May 1596, Milan), also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerist architect, sculptor, and mural painter. Biography Tibaldi was born in Puria di Valsolda ...

. In 1754, he painted a ''St Peter'' and ''St Paul'' for a bishop in

Sabbioneta Sabbioneta () is a town and in the province of Mantua, Lombardy region, Northern Italy. It is situated about north of Parma, not far from the northern bank of the Po River. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages o ...

. He painted fresco medallions for a church in Rivarolo.Presumably either

Rivarolo del Re ed Uniti Rivarolo del Re ed Uniti ( Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Cremona. Rivarolo del Re ed Uniti borders the fol ...

(which borders Casalmaggiore) or Rivarolo Mantovano (which borders Rivarolo del Re ed Uniti). He also painted frescoes for the Convent of the

Servites The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nun ...

della Fontana in Casalmaggiore. In 1755 he entered the Franciscan order, but did not stop painting. In 1755 he painted a portrait of

Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma Maria Amalia (Maria Amalia Josepha Johanna Antonia; 26 February 1746 – 18 June 1804) was List of Parmese consorts, duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla by marriage to Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma. She was born an Archduke, archduchess of ...

, to celebrate the naming of Chiozzi's native town as a city. He traveled to Rome from 1759-1767, where he had a number of commissions from English patrons, mainly copies of major works and portraits. Returning to Casalmaggiore he painted a ''Saints Roch, Eurosia, and the Assumption of the Madonna'' for the church in the frazione of Vicobellignano. Lateral to this main altarpiece, he painted two other depicting the ''Sacrifice of Abraham'' and the ''Apparition of the Angel''. He also painted a ''St Louis Gonzaga'' for the church of Breda Cisoni in

. He also painted altarpieces of ''Sant’Anna'' and a ''Crucifixion''. He painted for the Oratory of San Sebastiano, the parish church of the frazione of Vicomoscano, the parish church of Cicognara in Viadana, and the hospital of Casalmaggiore. He painted a transitory triumphal arch celebrating the visit of the Archduchess in 1770. In 1774-1775, he traveled for some time to Mantua to complete both sacred subjects and portraits. With the patronage of Count Raimondo Magnoni, he set up a studio and among his pupils were Giovanni Andrea Mones,

Antonio Zanetti Antonio Zanetti (1754 – May 23, 1812) was an Italian painter. He was born in Casalmaggiore, and there a pupil of the Abbot Francesco Chiozzi. Zanetti worked in the Ducal Villa at Sala, belonging to Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma, wife of Fe ...

, Francesco Ferrari, Giovanni Battista Pellizzari, Giacopo Mosca, Pietro Guazzi, and Paolo Araldi.G. Romani, page 617. His brother Angelo Fortunato was also a cleric, and a respected canon lawyer.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiozzi Francesco Antonio 1730 births 1785 deaths 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters People from Casalmaggiore 18th-century Italian male artists