Pietro della Vecchia - The fortune teller

Pietro della Vecchia, Pietro della Vècchia or Pietro Vècchia, formerly incorrectly called Pietro MuttoniBernard Aikema. "Vecchia, Pietro della."Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 5 March 2018 (

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

, 1603 – Venice, 8 September 1678) was a versatile

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

painter who worked in many genres and created altarpieces, portraits,

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

scenes and grotesques. He also created pastiches of the work of leading Italian painters of the 16th century. He designed cartoons for mosaics and worked as an art restorer. Della Vecchia was also sought after as an art expert and did expert valuations of artworks. He worked most of his life in Venice and its environs except for a brief stay in Rome.Bernard Aikema, ''Pietro Della Vecchia''
in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 37 (1989)

Life

The life of Pietro della Vecchia is not very well documented and the information available is not always reliable. He is believed to have been born in

in 1603 as the son of Gasparo della Vecchia, who was a painter admitted to the Venetian painters guild. Some art historians place the artist's place of birth in Venice. Pietro della Vecchia was erroneously called Pietro Muttoni after

Luigi Lanzi Luigi Lanzi (14 June 1732 – 30 March 1810) was an Italian art historian and archaeologist. When he died he was buried in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence by the side of Michelangelo. Biography Born in Treia, Lanzi was educated as ...

in the first edition of his Storia pittorica della Italia (1796), mixed up the artist's name with that of a Muttoni collection, which kept one of his paintings. Later authors interpreted ''de la Vecchia'' (meaning 'of the old') as a nickname as the artist liked to imitate the old masters of the previous century. Pietro was in fact a scion of a well-known Venetian family called 'Dalla Vecchia'.Bernard Aikema, ''Pietro della Vecchia, a profile'', Saggi e Memorie di storia dell'arte Vol. 14 (1984), pp. 77-100, 171-206 Early sources describe Alessandro Varotari, called il Padovanino, as his teacher. On stylistic grounds some art historians have expressed doubt on this traineeship in his early years. The influence of the works of Padovanino is only visible after 1635. So he may have worked with Padovanino at a later stage. His earliest known work show a strong influence by

Carlo Saraceni Carlo Saraceni (1579 – 16 June 1620) was an Italian early- Baroque painter, whose reputation as a "first-class painter of the second rank" was improved with the publication of a modern monograph in 1968. Life Though he was born and died in ...

and Saraceni's pupil and collaborator Jean Leclerc. This is an important indication that della Vecchia trained with them. As his work displayed for some time certain Caravaggesque characteristics it is believed that he spent time in Rome after the departure of Leclerc from Venice in 1621 or 1622. Della Vecchia probably worked in Padovanino's workshop after his return from Rome in 1625 or 1626. Padovanino, whose style was strongly rooted in early-16th-century Venetian art, likely played an important role in instilling in della Vecchia a great interest in 16th-century painting in Venice and the Veneto. The first documents in which the name of della Vecchia appears date back to the period from December 1626 to January 1628. The documents deal with the payment for a banner the artist had made for the Confraternity of the Carmelites in the church of S. Marco in Pordenone. From 1629 to 1640 he was a member of the guild of painters in Venice. In 1626 he married Clorinda Régnier (or Clorinda Renieri), a daughter of the Flemish painter

Nicolas Régnier Nicolas Régnier (1591–1667), known in Italy as Niccolò Renieri, was a painter, art dealer and art collector from the County of Hainaut, a French-speaking part of the Spanish Netherlands. He is often referred to as a Flemish artist because ...

(or Renieri). Clorinda Régnier was a painter in her own right and has been described as "a woman of great spirit, of great stature and of great adherence" ( Tommaso Temanza, 1738). Lucrezia Régnier, the elder sister of della Vecchia's wife was married to

Daniel van den Dyck Daniel van den Dyck, known in Italy as Daniel VandichDaniël van Dyck
at the

, a Flemish painter active in Northern Italy. Della Vecchia, together with his brother-in-law Daniel van den Dyck and their respective spouses, painted wall decorations in the Palazzo Pesaro in Preganziol. Pietro della Vecchia - Allegory of hearing

Pietro della Vecchia - Allegory of hearing

Towards the end of the 1630s della Vecchia had established his name as one of the leading painters of Venice, especially of religious works. In January 1640 the procurators of S. Marco de Supra, responsible for the decoration of St Mark's Basilica, commissioned from him two cartoons for mosaics. These appear to have been well received as della Vecchia was subsequently appointed Venice's "pitor ducal" (painter to the duke), a position he held until 1674, that is, until four years before his death. In this capacity he was responsible for the design of the new mosaics and the restoration of the old ones in the Basilica. Della Vecchia also received a commission to restore Giorgione's

Castelfranco Madonna The ''Madonna and Child Between St. Francis and St. Nicasius'', also known as ''Castelfranco Madonna'', is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Giorgione executed around 1504. It remains in the equivalent of its original setting, in a sid ...

altarpiece in 1643-1644. At the height of his career, della Vecchia was a very sought-after teacher with a large workshop employing many assistants. Della Vecchia also opened an academy in his house where live drawing classes were organised.

Gregorio Lazzarini Gregorio Lazzarini (1657 – 10 November 1730) was an Italian painter of mythological, religious and historical subjects, as well as portraits. One of the most successful Venetian artists of the day, a prominent teacher, and father to a signific ...

was one of his pupils probably shortly after 1667. Gregorio Lazzarini was later the teacher of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Della Vecchia also taught classes on the theory of art. Della Vecchia enjoyed fame as a connoisseur of ancient drawings and paintings. Especially during the latter part of his life he was repeatedly consulted by collectors and merchants, often together with his father-in-law Nicolas Régnier. Both he and his father-in-law had business relations with

Paolo del Sera Paolo del Sera (161722 September 1672) was a Florentine artist and art connoisseur of Venetian art who is best known for his correspondence with Leopoldo de 'Medici. He is said to have trained under Domenico Passignano Domenico Passignano (1559 ...

, who was the art agent in Venice of

Leopoldo de' Medici Leopoldo de' Medici (6 November 1617 – 10 November 1675) was an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and Governor of Siena. He was the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Biography Prince Leopoldo was born a ...

, an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and the Governor of Siena.

Marco Boschini Marco Boschini (1602–1681) was an Italian painter and engraver of the early Baroque period in Venice. He was born in Venice, and was educated in the school of Palma il Giovane. He painted ''The Last Supper'' for the sacristy of at Venice. He ...

, an engraver, art dealer and author who was a great admirer of della Vecchia, often joined the artist when he was asked to value paintings after 1670. Pietro della Vecchia - Socrates and two students

Pietro della Vecchia - Socrates and two students

Della Vecchia was close to the humanistic and libertine circle around the

Accademia degli Incogniti The Accademia degli Incogniti (Academy of the Unknowns), also called the Loredanian Academy, was a learned society of freethinking intellectuals, mainly noblemen, that significantly influenced the cultural and political life of mid-17th century Veni ...

(Academy of the Unknowns), a learned society of freethinking intellectuals, mainly noblemen, that significantly influenced the cultural and political life of mid-17th-century Venice.Stéphane Loire, ''Bernard Aikema, 'Pietro Della Vecchia and the heritage of the Renaissance Venice', Florence, 1990 ; Paola Rossi, 'Francesco Maffei', Milan, 1991 (compte rendu)'', in: 'The Burlington Magazine', 135, 1993, pp. 358-359 Many of the subjects of his works were a reflection of the intellectual occupations of this influential Venetian society. For instance the charged eroticism in the ''Young couple'' is likely linked to the libertine attitudes of the Accademia. His son Gasparo Prospero was born on 8 May 1653 and became a minor painter, musician, music theoretician and mathematician. Pietro della Vecchia also had four daughters one of whom died young. Della Vecchia died on 8 September 1678 in Venice and was buried in the church of S. Canciano.

Work

Della Vecchia was a versatile and prolific painter who worked in many genres and created altarpieces, portraits, genre scenes and grotesques. He relied on the assistance of a large workshop, which explains his large output as well as the fact that many of his works are known in multiple versions. He dated his religious paintings but not his other works, which makes it difficult to understand the evolution of the artist in these other genres. During his career the artist worked in a variety of artistic styles and absorbed many influences including from contemporary artists as well as artists from the previous century. He combined in his work the monumentality of the 16th century Venetian art of artists such as Titian and Tintoretto with the dramatic effects of the style of the

Caravaggisti The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never establi ...

. In line with the Venetian Baroque his works tend to push the sentiments of the depicted figures to the extreme. This penchant for exaggeration, even the grotesque, was central to della Vecchia's mature style and was influential on other artists. The artist developed a unique style, which was characterised by its pursuit of artistic virtuosity, and often depicted subject matter which was unusual and esoteric. These feature explains the high demand for his work by the more discerning Venetian collectors of his time.Pietro della Vecchia, ''The vision of Daniel''
at Christie's His earliest known works include two representations of Saint Francis, which display clear Caravaggesque tendencies. Some paintings of this early period show an affinity with those of an anonymous artist likely of French origin, the so-called Candelight Master, who can perhaps be identified with Trophime Bigot. It is assumed that during his presumed stay in Rome from 1621/2 to 1626 he may have been in contact with French followers of Caravaggio active in Rome such as Trophime Bigot and

Claude Vignon Claude Vignon (19 May 1593 – 10 May 1670) was a French painter, printmaker and illustrator who worked in a wide range of genres.Paola Pacht Bassani. "Vignon, Claude." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 2 November ...

. The first dated work by della Vecchia is the ''Calvary'' in the church of San Lio in Venice, and is dated 1633: It still shows the influence of Carlo Saraceni and Jean Leclerc, his presumed masters. The influence of

Bernardo Strozzi Bernardo Strozzi, named il Cappuccino and il Prete Genovese (c. 1581 – 2 August 1644) was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver. A canvas and fresco artist, his wide subject range included history, allegorical, genre and portrait paintin ...

becomes noticeable in his work after 1630. This is apparent in the ''Angel Offering a Skull to St Giustina, who stands between St Joseph and St John'' (1640,

Accademia, Venice The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery ...

) painted for the church of San Giustina. From 1640 to 1673 he painted designs for some the mosaic depictions inside the St. Mark's Basilica. A development towards greater drama was visible after 1650. The works of that time draw again on the Caravaggesque models he followed at the start of his career. The apex of this evolution is apparent in the two remaining works of the cycle of seven paintings that the artist executed between 1664 and 1674 for the second cloister of the Jesuit church in Venice. The paintings represent the ''Conversion of Francis Borgia'' (Musée des beaux-arts de Brest) and ''Marco Gussoni in the Ferrara lazaretto'' (location unknown). The macabre themes, the effects of spectral lights and the suffocating lack of space in the compositions are unique in Venetian painting of the seventeenth century, comparable only with the morbid paintings of the Milanese or Neapolitan schools. After this cycle his later paintings appear without inspiration and derivative from the painter's earlier works. Of greater interest are some historical paintings of this period, which show in the bold brushstrokes and the bright and dazzling palette the influence of the leading 17th-century Venetian painter Francesco Maffei, who died in 1660. Other works of his later period show the influence of Giambattista Langetti and the group of tenebrosi active in Venice around 1660. Della Vecchia had a notable interest in Venetian masters including

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

and

Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quali ...

. This interest was likely nurtured during a stay as an assistant in the workshop of Padovanino. For his skill in imitating the works of Giorgione, his friend Marco Boschini coined for him the nickname 'simia da Zorzon', meaning 'ape of Giorgione'. Giorgione was called Zorzon in the Venetian dialect.Taryn Marie Zarrillo, ''Artistic Patrimony and Cultural Politics in Early Seicento Venice'', doctoral thesis, thesis Advisor(s) David Rosand and Diane Bodart, 2016, Columbia University, Department of Art History and Archaeology According to Boschini, della Vecchia abused of his skill in imitating the older Venetian masters. Boschini recounts that when the art dealer Francesca Fontana was assembling a collection for Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici he was given a 'Giorgione self-portrait'. This portrait was actually an imitation by della Vecchia painted from his own features. When the deceit was discovered, della Vecchia claimed he was solely trying to emulate Giorgione and that he had produced the work 30 years earlier for his father-in-law Nicolas Régnier. Nicolas Régnier, who was not only a painter but also an art dealer, had sold the painting. Thirty years later, it was believed that the work was in fact a genuine Giorgione. It appears therefore that della Vecchia's imitations could very well be regarded in certain cases as attempts to pass off the imitations as originals. His friend Boschini regarded these imitations, often executed in a remarkably ingenious manner, as displays of virtuosity. Other artists whose works della Vecchia and his workshop regularly imitated included Titian,

Romanino Girolamo Romani, known as Romanino (c. 1485 - c. 1566), was an Italian High Renaissance painter active in the Veneto and Lombardy, near Brescia. His long career brought forth several different styles. Biography Romani was born in Brescia. Hi ...

Palma Vecchio Palma Vecchio (c. 1480 – 30 July 1528), born Jacopo Palma, also known as Jacopo Negretti, was a Venetian painter of the Italian High Renaissance. He is called Palma Vecchio in English and Palma il Vecchio in Italian ("Palma the Elder") to di ...

Paris Bordone Paris Bordone (Paris Paschalinus Bordone; 5 July 1500 – 19 January 1571) was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of Mannerist complexity and provincial vigor. Biography Bord ...

and

Jacopo Bassano Jacopo Bassano (c. 1510 – 14 February 1592), known also as Jacopo dal Ponte, was an Italian painter who was born and died in Bassano del Grappa near Venice, and took the village as his surname. Trained in the workshop of his father, Francesco t ...

.Olga Pujmanová, ''L'eco dei dipinti rinascimentali italiani negli schizzi delle collezioni barocche''
in: Národní Galerie v Praze Bulletin of the National Gallery in Prague, XVIII – XIX / 2008 –2009, pp. 42-49 His imitations of Giorgione offer an important insight into the manner in which that artist's work was perceived in the 17th century. It is believed that none of della Vecchia's works in the style of Giorgione were based on now lost compositions of Giorgione but were 'original' creations in the style of Giorgione. Della Vecchia was known for his paintings of soldiers (referred to as '

bravi ''Bravi'' (sing. ''bravo''; sometimes translated as ‘bravoes’) were a species of coarse soldiery or hired assassins employed by the rural lordlings (or dons) of northern Italy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to protect their interes ...

') with broad feathered hats of which he made many versions and variations. Some of these paintings depict individual soldiers while others show soldiers in genre scenes such as fortune telling, playing dice etc.Pietro della Vecchia, ''Fortune Teller reading the palm of a Soldier''
at Dorotheum The innumerable repetitions of these works depicting warriors and other popular figures created by his workshop had a negative impact on his posthumous reputation. Della Vecchia painted not only imaginary portraits of bravos, but also of philosophers, pages and courtesans. These portraits are an expression of the Venetian Baroque's taste for eccentric subject matter. They also represent the artist's reaction to the expressive head portraits ( tronies) by Caravaggio and Rembrandt.Vecchia, Pietro della
at the National Gallery of Art Pietro della Vecchia- The red warrior

There are about eight pictures by della Vecchia in which the landscape is the primary subject. These include four idyllic landscapes that presage the Rococo style (now in the Pinacoteca Querini-Stampalia) and the ''Rocky Landscape with Warriors'' in the Hermitage. Two further landscapes were auctioned at Dorotheum on 20 October 2015 as lot 279. These latter works are executed in a painterly technique, reminiscent of the 'picturesque' style of late 16th-century artists Titian and Jacopo Bassano. The two compositions likely do not depict a particular story, but are rather an evocation of a romanticised wild countryside, frequented by intrepid warriors wearing fantastic costumes.Pietro della vecchia, ''Landscapes with warriors''
at Dorotheum Della Vecchia maintained close links with the members of the Accademia degli Incogniti. Their philosophical occupations were reflected in the iconography of some of his paintings of the 1650s and 1660s. In some works he treated the mathematical, philosophical and cabalistic ideas in a serious manner and in others he ridiculed them through salacious images. For example in the ''Allegory of architecture'' (1654,

Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo The Accademia Carrara, (), officially Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, in Lombardy in northern Italy. The art gallery was established in about 1780 by , a Bergamasco collect ...

), which depicts a half-naked woman crouched over a book on a ledge with an old man and another half-naked woman seeming to beseech her, he gives expression to some of those ideas.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Della Vecchia, Pietro 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Venice Italian Baroque painters People from the Province of Vicenza 1603 births 1678 deaths

Life

Work

Further reading

Notes

External links