Lucio Massari (22 January 1569 – 3 November 1633) was an Italian painter of the School of Bologna. He was active during the

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

and early-

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 ...

periods.

Life and work

He was born in Bologna, where he initially apprenticed with an unknown painter by the name of Spinelli, the Mannerist painter Bartolomeo Passarotti, but also worked with Bartolomeo Cesi. In 1592, he joined the Carracci studio or the ''Academy of the Incamminati'', and remained attached to

Ludovico Carracci Ludovico (or Lodovico) Carracci ( , , ; 21 April 1555 – 13 November 1619) was an Italian early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker from Bologna. His works are characterized by a strong mood invoked by broad gestures and flickering li ...

for many years. In 1604, he worked with Ludovico to fresco ''Stories of San Mauro, San Benedetto and others'' in the cloister of San Michele in Bosco. In 1607, he collaborated with

Lionello Spada Leonello Spada (also called ''Lionello Spada'') (1576 – 17 May 1622) was an Italians, Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Rome and his native city of Bologna, where he became known as one of the followers of Caravaggio. Biogr ...

and Francesco Brizio in frescoes for the Palazzo Bonfioli, in Bologna. In 1610, he visited Rome, remaining under the patronage of Cardinal Facchinetti, and befriended

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoe ...

. In 1612, he completed the frescoes left unfinished by

Bernardino Poccetti Bernardino Poccetti (26 August 1548 – 10 October 1612), also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker of etchings. Biography Born in Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region ...

in a chapel of the Certosa di Galluzzo, near

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He painted the main altarpiece for the church of Santa Maria in Guadi in

San Giovanni in Persiceto San Giovanni in Persiceto (from 1912 to 1927: ''Persiceto''; Western Bolognese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Located in the northern part of the Metropolitan Ci ...

. He returned to Bologna in 1614, and soon traveled with

Francesco Albani Francesco Albani or Albano (17 March or 17 August 1578 – 4 October 1660) was an Italian Baroque painter of Albanian descent who was active in Bologna (1591–1600; 1609; 1610; 1618–1622), Rome (1600–1609; 1610–1617; 1623–1625), ...

to work in

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

. He is said to have spent so much time in hunting, fishing, and the delights of the countryside, that he neglected painting, though his biography shows him to be exceedingly prolific in altarpieces. Among his pupils were Sebastiano Brunetti, Antonio Randa, and Fra Bonaventura Bisi. His son Bartolomeo Massari became a noted anatomist.

External links

*
''Blood of the Redeemer'' at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massari, Lucio 1569 births 1633 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Painters from Bologna Italian Baroque painters Italian Mannerist painters Fresco painters