Agostino Caracci
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Agostino Carracci ( , , ; also Caracci; 16 August 1557 – 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...
, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother,
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 Agostino Carracci, Agostino and cousin Ludovico Carracci, Ludovico (with whom the Ca ...
, and cousin,
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 ...
, one of the founders of the
Accademia degli Incamminati The Accademia degli Incamminati (Italian for "Academy of Those who are Making Progress" or "Academy of the Journeying") was one of the first art academies in Italy, founded in 1582 in Bologna. History The academy was founded as the Accademia ...
(Academy of the Progressives) 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 ...
. Intended to devise alternatives to 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 ...
style favored in the preceding decades,Agostino Carracci
at Getty
this teaching academy helped propel painters of the School of Bologna to prominence.


Life

Agostino Carracci was born 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 ...
as the son of a tailor. He was the elder brother of Annibale Carracci and the cousin of Ludovico Carracci. He initially trained as a goldsmith. He later studied painting, first with
Prospero Fontana Prospero Fontana (1512–1597) was a Bolognese painter of late Renaissance and Mannerist art. He is perhaps best known for his frescoes and architectural detailing. The speed in which he completed paintings earned him commissions where he wor ...
, who had been Lodovico's master, and later with
Bartolomeo Passarotti Bartolomeo Passarotti or Passerotti (1529–1592) was an Italian painter of the mannerist period, who worked mainly in his native Bologna. His family name is also spelled Passerotti or Passarotto. Life and work From approximately 1550 to 1555, h ...
. He traveled to Parma to study the works of
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...
. Accompanied by his brother Annibale, he spent a long time in Venice, where he trained as an engraver under the renowned
Cornelis Cort Cornelis Cort ( March 1578) was a Dutch engraver and draughtsman. He spent the last 12 years of his life in Italy, where he was known as ''Cornelio Fiammingo''. Biography Born in Hoorn or Edam, Cort may have been a pupil of Dirck Volckertsz ...
.Carracci
at the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''
Starting from 1574 he worked as a reproductive engraver, copying works of 16th century masters such as
Federico Barocci Federico Barocci (also written Barozzi) ( – 30 September 1612) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly esteemed and influential, and foresha ...
,
Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...
,
Antonio Campi Antonio Campi (c. 1522 – 1587) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He was born in Cremona. His style merges Lombard with Mannerist styles. In Cremona, his extended family was the foundation of the Cremonese school of painting. ...
,
Veronese Veronese is the Italian word denoting someone or something from Verona, Italy and may refer to: * Veronese Riddle, a popular riddle in the Middle Ages * Veronese (moth), ''Veronese'' (moth), a moth genus in the family Crambidae * Monte Veronese, ...
and
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...
. He also produced some original prints, including two
etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...
s. He traveled to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
(1582, 1587–1589) and
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
(1586–1587). Together with Annibale and Ludovico he worked in Bologna on the fresco cycles in
Palazzo Fava Palazzo Fava or Palazzo Fava-Ghisilieri is a historic palace at 2 via Manzoni in Bologna, now housing art exhibitions and the Caffè Letterario Carracci Fava. It is most notable for its three rooms of frescoes of scenes from the lives of Jason, M ...
( ''Histories of Jason and Medea'', 1584) and Palazzo Magnani ( ''Histories of Romulus'', 1590–1592). In 1592 he also painted the ''Communion of St. Jerome'', now in the Pinacoteca di Bologna and considered his masterwork. In 1620,
Giovanni Lanfranco Giovanni Lanfranco (26 January 1582 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian Baroque painter. Biography Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the household of Coun ...
, a pupil of the Carracci, famously accused another Carracci student,
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 ...
, of plagiarizing this painting. From 1586 is his altarpiece of the ''Madonna with Child and Saints'', in the National Gallery of
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
. In 1598 Carracci joined his brother Annibale in Rome, to collaborate on the decoration of the Gallery in
Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French e ...
. From 1598 to 1600 is a ''triple Portrait'', now in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, an example of genre painting. In 1600 he was called to Parma by Duke
Ranuccio I Farnese Ranuccio I Farnese (28 March 1569 – 5 March 1622) reigned as Duke of Parma, Duke of Piacenza, Piacenza and Duchy of Castro, Castro from 1592. A firm believer in absolute monarchy, Ranuccio, in 1594, centralised the administration of Parma and ...
to begin the decoration of the Palazzo del Giardino, but he died before it was finished. His friend the poet
Claudio Achillini Claudio Achillini (; 18 September 1574 – 1 October 1640) was an Italian philosopher, theologian, mathematician, poet, and jurist. He is a major figure in the history of Italian Baroque poetry. Biography Born in Bologna, he was a grandson to ...
composed an
epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
, which was later published by
Carlo Cesare Malvasia Carlo Cesare Malvasia (18 December 16169 March 1693) was an Italian scholar and art historian from Bologna, best known for his biographies of Baroque artists titled ''Felsina pittrice'', published in 1678. Together with his contemporary Giovanni P ...
in the life of the Carracci. Agostino's son
Antonio Carracci Antonio Marziale Carracci (1583 – 8 April 1618) was an Italian painter. He was the natural son of Agostino Carracci. Life Carracci was born in the parish of Santa Lucia in Venice, probably in 1583, the product of an affair with a courte ...
was also a painter, and attempted to compete with his father's Academy. An engraving by Agostino Carraci after the painting ''Love in the Golden Age'' by the 16th-century Flemish painter
Paolo Fiammingo Pauwels Franck, known in Italy as Paolo Fiammingo and Paolo Franceschi (c. 1540–1596), was a Habsburg Netherlands, Flemish painter, who, after training in Antwerp, was active in Venice for most of his life. He is mainly known for his landscape ...
was the inspiration for
Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...
's ''
Le bonheur de vivre ''Le bonheur de vivre'' (''The Joy of Life'') is a painting by Henri Matisse. Along with Picasso's '' Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'', ''Le bonheur de vivre'' is regarded as one of the pillars of early modernism. The monumental canvas was first exh ...
'' (Joy of Life).


Critical evaluation

While his undoubted value in the graphic field is widely recognised, Agostino, as a painter, although admired by his contemporaries, ended up being overshadowed by the fame of his brother Annibale. Perhaps even his long practice of engraving ended up putting him at disadvantage, since he might have been perceived as more inclined to copy than to create. Even Giovanni Pietro Bellori, who included Agostino Carracci in his selective collection of biographies of artists (''Vite de' pittori, scultori e architetti moderni'', 1672), described his activity as a painter, with the sole exception of the ''Communion of Saint Jerome'', a work that he praises, almost entirely limited to the role of supporting his younger brother Annibale, and reproaches him for having dedicated too much of his work to graphic production. The modern critical evaluation of the painter Agostino Carracci probably still suffers from the negative legacies of the past. The fact that there is still only one important monograph dedicated to him published (Stephen E. Ostrow, from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, 1966, never translated into Italian), and that an individual exhibition on this artist has yet to be held, are probably significant factors that show that he remains an underrated artist. However, there have been a positive critical reevaluation of the painter, since there is now a better awareness of his artistic role, alongside his more famous relatives, and the knowledge of his personal work is now greater.


Works

''Oil on canvas unless otherwise noted'' * 1573 – ''Pietà'' (
Muscarelle Museum of Art The Muscarelle Museum of Art is a university museum affiliated with the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. While the Museum only dates to 1983, the university art collection has been in existence since its first gift – a p ...
,
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
) * 1586 – '' Madonna and Child with Saints'' (
Galleria nazionale di Parma The Galleria nazionale di Parma is an art gallery in Parma, northern Italy. Painters exhibited in the museum include Beato Angelico, Fra Angelico, Canaletto, Ludovico Carracci ('' The Funeral of the Virgin Mary''), Agostino Carracci ('' Madonna ...
) * – ''Lamentation'' or ''Pietà'' (Hermitage, St. Petersburg) * – (engraving, Baltimore Museum of Art) * – ''Annunciation'' (Musée du Louvre, Paris) * 1590–1595 – '' Portrait of a Woman as Judith'' (private collection) * – ''Assumption'' (Ss. Salvatore church, Bologna) * 1592–1597 – '' The Last Communion of Saint Jerome'' (
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the ...
) * – ''Head of a Faun in a Concave'' (drawing in roundel, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) * 1598–1600 – '' Triple Portrait of Arrigo, Pietro and Amon'' (
National Museum of Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with sever ...
, Naples)


Fresco collaborations with Annibale and Ludovico

*'' Life of Aeneas'' ( Palazzo Fava, Bologna) *''
Lives of Jason and Medea Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * ''Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous me ...
'' (Palazzo Fava, Bologna) *''
Scenes from the Foundation of Rome Scene (from Greek ') may refer to: General * Scene (performing arts), a part of the story held in a single location * Scene (perception), a set of information that can flow from a physical environment into a perceptual system via sensory transd ...
'' (
Palazzo Magnani, Bologna Palazzo Magnani is a Renaissance palace located on Via Zamboni number 20 in central Bologna, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy, built by the Magnani noble family with the same name. Construction on the palace began in 1577 under architect Domeni ...
) *'' Life of Hercules'' ( Palazzo Sampieri Talon, Bologna)


Undated

* ''The Penitent Magdalen'' (private collection) * Carracci's erotic work (prints)


See also

*
The Carracci The Carracci ( , , ) were a Bolognese family of artists that played an instrumental role in bringing forth the Baroque style in painting. Brothers Annibale (1560–1609) and Agostino (1557–1602) along with their cousin Ludovico (1555–161 ...


Bibliography

* Stephen E. Ostrow, ''Agostino Carracci'' (1966), Thesis (Ph.D.) New York University, New York


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carracci, Agostino 1557 births 1602 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian Baroque painters Painters from Bologna Italian printmakers Italian erotic artists Italian Roman Catholics Sibling artists Catholic painters Catholic decorative artists