Francesco Fernandi (1679–1740), also known as Imperiali, was an Italian painter of the late-

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

period.

Biography

Born in Milan, he initially apprenticed with the painter for the Borromeo family, Carlo Vimercati. After a spell in Palermo, of which little is known, he moved to Rome sometime around 1705. There he joined projects of the large studio of painters working with

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (18 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian Baroque painter and Drawing, draughtsman, active principallly in Rome where he was the leading painter in the second half of the 17th century. He was a fresco and canvas painte ...

. He was patronized in Rome by the Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali, from whom he acquired the last name ''Imperiali''. We know little of his works for the Vatican and the

Ottoboni The Ottoboni were an aristocratic Venetian family, who gained prominence in Rome after the 17th century, mainly due to the papacy of Alexander VIII and his cardinal nephew, Pietro Ottoboni, known for his patronage of musicians and painters. Cardi ...

family.

In Rome, he gained an independent studio, and was apparently popular with visiting British painters, having mentored

Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to: *Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet *Allan Ramsay (artist) Allan Ramsay (13 October 171310 August 1784) was a Scottish portrait Painting, painter. Life and career Ramsay w ...

and

William Hoare William Hoare, RA ( – 12 December 1792) was an English painter. From 1740 to 1759, he was the leading oil portraitist at Bath, Somerset until Thomas Gainsborough arrived in the town. Noted for his pastels, Hoare was a co-founder of the R ...

, among others. Among his Italian pupils is the little-known,

Camillo Paderni Camillo Paderni, or Camillus Paderni, lived from c. 1715 to 1781. He was an illustrator, excavator, and curator at the Museum Herculanense, as part of King Charles VII of Naples royal Palace of Portici, Palace in Portici, and a Roman. Papyri Pade ...

and the more prominent

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...

. In August 1723, he apparently backed the litigation and lobbying by the academic outsiders (non-members of the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...

in Rome) like

Michelangelo Cerruti Michelangelo or Michelangiolo Cerruti (1663 – 24 December 1749) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. At a young age, he was a pupil of Giuseppe Passeri in Rome and afterwards lived for a decade in northern Italy, ...

, who sought to liberalize the control over artistic production held by the Academy. He himself was appointed along with his friend,

Agostino Masucci Agostino Masucci (; 29 August 1690– 19 October 1758) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period. Biography Born in Rome, he initially apprenticed with Andrea Procaccino, and then became a member of the studio of Carlo Maratta ...

to the Academy in 1723. He appears to have mastered painting a diversity of themes and styles, and is described by his biographer Niccolò Pio as having worked in: :''all kinds of the natural things, to perfection, and with diligence, and without academicism, (he paints) all kinds of Animals, and Fish both plural and singular, likewise fruits, Flowers, Cristalware, gold and silver goblets, tapestries, vistas, and landscapes ... Historical paintings and anything else that falls into his hands...''. He painted a large altarpiece for the church of

Sant'Eustachio Sant'Eustachio () is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...

in Rome in 1720–24. He also painted the two canvases flanking the altarpiece (''Martyrdom'' and ''Decapitation'' of the name saints, in the chapel of ''Saints Valentine and Hilary'' in the

Viterbo Cathedral Viterbo Cathedral (, or ''Cattedrale di San Lorenzo'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and the principal church of the city of Viterbo, Lazio, central Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Viterbo and is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The church ...

. He painted an altarpiece (c. 1730) for the church of San Francesco in

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History Prehistory The ol ...

and a ''Death of San Romualdo'' for

San Gregorio al Celio San Gregorio Magno al Celio, also known as San Gregorio al Celio or simply San Gregorio, is a Catholic church in Rome, Italy, part of a monastery of the Camaldolese branch of the Benedictine Order. San Gregorio is located on the Caelian Hill, i ...

in Rome. A ''Madonana and child of the Rosary with Saints Jerome, Domenic & Francis'' (c. 1732) in Sant'Andrea in

Vetralla Vetralla is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in central Italy, south of that city, located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano. History Vetralla's dominating fortified position in the heart of Etruscan territories has been contin ...

, near

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

, is attributed to Imperiali. In 1735,

Filippo Juvarra Filippo Juvarra (7 March 1678 – 31 January 1736) was an Italian architect, scenographer, engraver and goldsmith. He was active in a late-Baroque architecture style, working primarily in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Biography Juvarra was born ...

requested eight large canvases depicting allegorical virtues of a ruler for the throne room in the royal

palace of La Granja The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Spanish: ''Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso''), known as La Granja, is an early 18th-century palace in the small town of San Ildefonso, located in the hills near Segovia and north of Madr ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He commissioned paintings from Solimena, Lemoyne, Trevisani, Costanzi, Masucci, Pittoni, Creti and Parodi. Two of the painters had to be replaced. Lemoyne died and was replaced by Carle Vanloo; while Parodi's fees were too costly, and Imperiali was instead awarded the commission for ''Liberality'' or ''Alexander rewarding his officers''.Now in the

Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial and about n ...

. Clark AM, page 233. Imperiali died in Rome in 1740.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandi (Imperiali), Francesco 1679 births 1740 deaths Artists from Milan 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Italian Baroque painters Rococo painters 18th-century Italian male artists

Biography

References

See also

External links