Odoardo Farnese (6 December 1573 – 21 February 1626) was an Italian nobleman, the second son of Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Portugal, known for his patronage of the arts. He became a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1591, and briefly acted as regent of the

Duchy of Parma The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese ...

and Piacenza for his nephew

Odoardo Odoardo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Odoardo Barri (1844–1920), the pseudonym of Edward Slater *Odoardo Beccari (1843–1920), Italian naturalist, discovered the titan arum in Sumatra in 1878 *Odoardo Borrani (1833–1 ...

from 1622 to 1626. Il Gesù 026

Cardinal Odoardo is probably best known today for commissioning the Bolognese artist

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of t ...

to fresco the Camerino in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Carracci undertook this from 1595 to 1597, just prior to starting his decoration of the more famous and elaborate

Farnese Gallery ''The Loves of the Gods'' is a monumental fresco cycle, completed by the Bolognese artist Annibale Carracci and his studio, in the Farnese Gallery which is located in the west wing of the Palazzo Farnese, now the French Embassy, in Rome. The fre ...

in the same palace.

The Camerino

The Camerino was Farnese's private study. The subject of the central scene in the ceiling is '' The Choice of Hercules''. The scene is surrounded by a painted frame, an example of ''

quadro riportato ''Quadro riportato'' (plural ''quadri riportati'') is the Italian phrase for "carried picture" or "transported paintings". It is used in art to describe gold-framed easel paintings or framed paintings that are seen in a normal perspective and pain ...

'', which gives the illusion of a framed oil painting hung on the ceiling when in reality both the scene and its frame were frescoed. This ''quadro riportato'' device was brought to fruition by Carracci in the Farnese Gallery a few years later. In addition, Farnese commissioned various oil paintings from Carracci, including his ''Rinaldo and Armida'' now in the Capodimonte Museum in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

and '' Christ in Glory with Saints and Odoardo Farnese'' now in the Galleria Palatina in Florence. It was on Carracci's recommendation that he commissioned

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 shoem ...

to fresco the Chapel of St Nilo in the abbey at Grottaferrata. Farnese also commissioned Carracci's '' Sleeping Venus''. His patronage of architecture was less extensive but included the Casa Professa, the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

house adjacent to the

church of the Gesu Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in Rome, by the architect

Girolamo Rainaldi Girolamo Rainaldi (4 May 1570 – 15 July 1655) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects. He was a successful competitor of Bernini. His son, Carlo Rainaldi, became an even ...

.Robertson, ''ibid''

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Odoardo 1573 births 1626 deaths

Clergy from Rome 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Frascati

16th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Regents of Parma Italian art patrons Nobility from Rome

The Camerino

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

See also

External links