Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo (1584 – August 18, 1638) was an Italian painter active mainly in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

Life

Ansaldo was born in

Voltri Voltri is a quartiere of the Italian city of Genoa, located west of the city centre. It was formerly an independent comune. In 2015, Voltri and the nearby hamlets included in Genoa's VII Municipio (Crevari, Acquasanta, Vesima, Fabbriche) had a ...

, now part of the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' of

, the son of a merchant. He trained under

Orazio Cambiasi Orazio Cambiasi, also Orazio Cambiaso, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Genoese school of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Cambiasi was born to the painter Luca Cambiaso, who trained him. He specialized in frescos decorati ...

and possibly collaborated with

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 painti ...

. Two of his pupils were

Giuseppe Badaracco Giuseppe Badaracco (1588–1657), also called “Il Sordo” (the Deaf), was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Genoa, in Liguria and in the island of Corsica. Born in Genoa into well-to-do family, he first studied cla ...

and

Bartolomeo Bassi Bartolomeo Bassi (early 1600s (decade)-1640s) was an Italian painter active in the early- Baroque period, mainly in his hometown of Genoa. He was a disciple of Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo, and painted quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, whi ...

. One of his descendants was

Innocenzo Ansaldo Innocenzo is a male given name of Latin origin. Notable people with this name include: *Innocenzo da Berzo (1844–1890), Roman Catholic priest *Innocenzo Bonelli (), Captain Regent of San Marino *Innocenzo Del Bufalo-Cancellieri (1566–1610), Rom ...

Pescia Pescia () is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the :it:Pescia (fiume), river of the same name. History Archaeological excav ...

(February 12, 1734- February 16, 1816). He died in Genoa and was probably buried in the same Annunziata church.

Work

Only a few of Ansaldo's works are dated or documented, but most of these paintings listed in the early art historian

Raffaello Soprani Raffaele Soprani (1612-1672) was an Italian aristocrat known mainly as an art historian for his volume of biographies of Genoese artists, published posthumously in 1674. Biography He was born to a senatorial family in Genoa, and himself served twic ...

's 1768 publication about artists in Genoa ''Le vite de' pittori, scultori, ed architetti genovesi'' still survive.M. Newcome. "Ansaldo, Andrea." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.Raffaello Soprani con note di Carlo Giuseppe Ratti
vite de' pittori, scultori, ed architetti genovesi''
Tomo I, Stamperia Casamara, Genova, 1768, pag. 332 e pag. 468-469 They span a period of over 20 years. Ansaldo's works are typical of the Genoese eclecticism of the early 17th century, influenced by Flemish artists such as

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition ...

and Anthony van Dyck and the Milanese

Giovanni Battista Crespi Giovanni Battista Crespi (23 December 1573 – 23 October 1632), called Il Cerano, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect. Biography He was born in Romagnano Sesia, the son of a painter, Raffaele Crespi, and moved to Cerano with his f ...

Giulio Cesare Procaccini Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574–1625) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early Baroque era in Milan. Biography Born in Bologna he was son of the Mannerist painter Ercole Procaccini the Elder and brother of Camillo Procaccini and Ca ...

and ''il Morazzone''. Ansaldo was responsible for the fresco decoration of the cupola of the

Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato is the Catholic cathedral of Genoa, northern Italy; its decoration employed the major baroque studios and artists in Genoa in the 17th century. It is named ''Vastato'' because the area where it ...

of Genova, completed during 1635–1638, just before his death. His ''Annunciation'' fresco is considered the first true Baroque painting in the city. Through a complex

trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

view, it reproduces the interior of a Greek Cross planned church, with Mary ascending to heaven being awaited by the Holy Father in the centre of the dome. Altarpieces from Ansaldo were commissioned for the

Cathedral of Segovia Segovia Cathedral is the Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral located in the main square (Plaza Mayor) of the city of Segovia, in the community of Castile-Leon, Spain. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built in the Flamboyant Gothi ...

. A ''Deposition'' is presently housed in the Accademia Linguistica of Genoa.

References

External links

* * * *Camillo Manzitti, "Andrea Ansaldo", in "Paragone" n. 267, Maggio 1972. *Franco Boggero (a cura di), Un pittore genovese del Seicento, Andrea Ansaldo, 1584–1638, restauro e confronti, catalogo della mostra Genova, Commenda di San Giovanni di Pré - 25 gennaio/3 marzo 1985, Genova, 1985. 1584 births 1638 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Painters from Genoa Italian Baroque painters Trompe-l'œil artists {{Italy-painter-16thC-stub