Tassi, Agostino - Naufragio della flotta di Enea - 1627

Agostino Tassi (born Agostino Buonamici; 1578 – 1644) was an Italian landscape and seascape painter, who was convicted of raping

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...

in 1612. Because he aspired to nobility he modified the details of his early life. Though he was born in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and par ...

he claimed to have been born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. His family name was Buonamici, but Agostino adopted the surname Tassi to give substance to his story that he was adopted by the Marchese Tassi. He was actually the son of a furrier named Domenico.

Career

Tassi, Agostino - Competition on the Capitoline Hill - 1630s

Tassi may have worked for a time in Livorno, as well as in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. Among his followers or pupils in Livorno is thought to be Pietro Ciafferi. During his sojourn in Florence it is believed that he was made a galley slave in the Grand Duke's convict galleys for some unspecified crime. However, he was allowed to move about freely on the ship instead of pulling on an oar. More importantly, he was able to paint and draw on the galley, and was thus provided with ample material from which to execute his seascapes and images of ports, ships, and fishing scenes. Regarding his artistic formation, Tassi is said to have been a pupil of Paul Bril, from whom he derived some of his images of the sea. He later worked in Rome with Orazio Gentileschi, who painted figures, after being commissioned by

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

. During his stay, he raped Orazio's daughter, the painter

. Considered a master of perspective and a good painter of illusionistic architectural decoration, Tassi painted in several Roman palaces including the Quirinale (1611–12), the Rospigliosi and the Doria Pamphili (1637). In Rome, Tassi also served as the master (from April 1625) of French painter

Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque Painting, Baroque era. He spent most ...

as well as Viviano Codazzi and Costanzo de Peris. Tassi hired Lorrain to grind his colors and to do all of the household work. Though better known as a painter of frescoes, Tassi also painted some canvases, which include ''Arrival of the Queen of Sheba before Solomon'' (c. 1610) and ''Entry of

Taddeo Barberini Taddeo Barberini (1603–1647) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina and Gonfalonier of the Church; commander of the Papal Army. He was a nephew of Pope Urban VIII and brother of Cardinals Frances ...

from the Porta del Popolo'' (1632). His depictions of night scenes had a certain influence on the Dutch

Leonaert Bramer Leonaert Bramer, also Leendert or Leonard (24 December 1596 – before 10 February 1674 (date of burial)),Leonaert Bramer< ...

Rape conviction

In 1612, Tassi was convicted of raping

, an Italian Baroque painter with an international clientele. Tassi originally denied the accusation, stating, "Never have I had carnal relations nor tried to have it with the said Artemisia... I've never been alone in Artemisia's house with her." He afterwards claimed that he had visited her house in order to safeguard her honor. Tassi had already run afoul of the law, having earlier been accused of raping both his sister-in-law and one of his wives. His wife had been missing for a time, and it was believed that Tassi had hired bandits to kill her. In the ensuing seven-month rape trial, it was discovered that Tassi had planned to murder his wife and to steal some of Orazio's paintings. At the end of the trial, Tassi was imprisoned for two years. His verdict was later annulled and he was at liberty in 1613. His crime and its impact on her has subsequently influenced the feminist view of Artemisia Gentileschi during the late 17th century. Tassi died in Rome in 1644.

Popular culture

In the 1997 film '' Artemisia'', directed by Agnès Merlet and starring

Valentina Cervi Valentina Cervi (born 13 April 1976) is an Italian film and television actress. Cervi was born in Rome, Italy. She is the daughter of director Tonino Cervi and granddaughter of actor Gino Cervi. Her mother is the Italian producer of Aust ...

, the role of Tassi is played by Serbian actor Miki Manojlovic. The movie, contrary to accepted historical knowledge and Tassi's conviction for rape, depicted the relationship between Tassi and Artemisia Gentileschi as one of mutual passion.Bal, Mieke. ''The Artemisia Files: Artemisia Gentileschi for Feminists and Other Thinking People'' (p195), University of Chicago Press, 2005 .

Sample works

File:Agostino Tassi - The Embarkation of a Queen - WGA22035.jpg, ''The Embarkation of a Queen,'' File:Agostino Tassi - The Coral Fishers - WGA22036.jpg, ''The Coral Fishers'', File:Agostino Tassi - Landscape with a Scene of Witchcraft - Walters 371145.jpg, ''Landscape with a Scene of Witchcraft'', between 1620 and 1644

References

External links

''Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on Agostino Tassi (see index)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tassi, Agostino Artemisia Gentileschi 1578 births 1644 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Umbrian painters Italian landscape painters People from Perugia Italian rapists Italian Mannerist painters