Angelo Nardi da Razzo (19 February 1584 – 1664) was an Italian painter of the early

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period; active primarily in Spain.

Biography

He was born in

Vaglia Vaglia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about north of Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most popula ...

to a noble Florentine family that had been dispossessed of their assets and banished by the

Medicis The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th c ...

. His artistic formation probably took place in a circle of painters that included major figures of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

such as

Ludovico Cigoli Lodovico or Ludovico Cardi (21 September 1559 – 8 June 1613), also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last ...

Domenico Passignano Domenico Passignano (1559 – 17 May 1638), born Domenico Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Counter-''Maniera'' ( Counter-Mannerism) style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century. Biography ...

and

Gregorio Pagani Gregorio Pagani (14 July 1559 – 1605) was an Italian painter of the late 16th century, active mainly in Florence. He was the son of the painter Francesco Pagani, then became a pupil of Santi di Tito, then entered the studio of Ludovico Cigoli ...

. From approximately 1600 to 1607, he lived in

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 ...

. After that time, he established himself in Madrid. By 1615, he had been commissioned to paint a series of works celebrating a meeting of Spanish and French royalty in

Irun Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the Spanish Civil War, ...

. Those paintings were destroyed in a fire at the

Royal Alcázar of Madrid The Royal Alcázar of Madrid (Spanish: ''Real Alcázar de Madrid'') was a fortress located at the site of today's Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The structure was originally built in the second half of the ninth century by the Muslims, ...

in 1734. Between 1619 and 1620, he executed a series of works for the in

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...

, occasioned by the recent death of its founder,

Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas (20 April 1546 – 7 December 1618) was a Spanish bishop and cardinal who was Grand Inquisitor of Spain from 1608 to 1618. Biography Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas was born in Aranda de Duero on 20 April 1546, the son o ...

. These are considered to be the first works of his artistic maturity. At the same time, records show that he was employed as the manager of workshop belonging to . Following Aguilera's death in 1620, he took over the studio and, in 1623, married his thirteen-year-old daughter. This is believed to have been a "

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...

" and he had it annulled in 1625. Marcos' son, Lorenzo, filed suit against Nardi, but it was dismissed. Shortly after, he received the largely honorary (unpaid) position of Painter to the King. The death of Bartolomé González in 1627 left an opening for

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

, which Nardi finally obtained in 1631, despite some very serious competition. Among his competitors was

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

, who was awarded a similar post. Over the years, they developed a friendly working relationship. Nardi would act as a character witness in favor of Velázquez when he was being considered for the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

. With his economic situation secured, he devoted some time to doing works for religious communities. Later, he would win his fellow painters an exemption from the

alcabala The alcabala or alcavala () was a sales tax of up to fourteen percent,Joaquín Escriche, ''Diccionario razonado de legislacion y jurisprudencia'', Volume 1, Third Edition, Viuda e hijos de A. Calleja, 1847. Entry "Alcabala", pp. 143–149Availabl ...

; a type of sales tax. He died in Madrid and was interred at the Church of the Misericordia, which was destroyed during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. A street in Vaglia bears his name.

Selected works

* ''Crucifixión'' (

Carmelite order The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

, Alcalá de Henares) * ''Escenas de la Vida de Santa Teresa de Jesús'' (Carmelite order) * Decorations of frescoes at the Chapel of the Conception, La Guardia (c. 1630) * ''Noli me tangere'' (1639, Getafe) * ''Escenas de la Vida de la Magdalena'' (1639, Alcalá de Henares archives) * ''San Jerónimo'' (''

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

'') (

Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer The Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer (Víctor Balaguer Museum & Library) is located in Vilanova i la Geltrú, province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and was founded in 1884 by Víctor Balaguer so as to thank the city for its support during ...

) * ''San José con el Niño y san Juanito'' (

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

) * ''Presentación de Jesús en el Templo'' (Museo de Prado,

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

) * ''Retablo de las Claras'' (1647, Alcalá de Henares) * ''Adoración de los Pastores'' (''Adoration of the Shepherds'') (1650, private collection)

Sources

Antonio Palomino Acislo Antonio Palomino de Castro y Velasco (165513 April 1726) was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period, and a writer on art, author of ''El Museo pictórico y escala óptica'', which contains a large amount of important biographical mate ...

, ''

An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects ''An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects'' is a book written by the Spanish painter Antonio Palomino and dedicated to the biographies of the most eminent artists who worked in Spain durin ...

'', 1724, first English translation, 1739, p. 37 * *Angulo Íñiguez, Diego and Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso, E., ''Pintura madrileña. Primer tercio del siglo XVII'' (''Madrilene Painters''), Madrid, Instituto Diego Velázquez, 1969, p. 271-298. *Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., ''Borgianni, Cavarozzi y Nardi en España'' (''Borgianni, Cavarozzi and Nardi in Spain''), Madrid, Instituto Diego Velázquez, CSIC, 1964, p. 25.

External links

Angelo Nardi on the Museo del Prado Online Encyclopedia

* [http://www.mcu.es/patrimonio/docs/MC/IPHE/PatrimonioCulturalE/N0/24-Pinturas_Angelo_Nardi_Monasterio_San_Bernardo.pdf Rocío Bruquetas, ''Pinturas de Ángelo Nardi en el Monasterio de San Bernardo de Alcalá de Henares: proyecto de restauración de los cuadros de las capillas laterales de la iglesia''.] {{DEFAULTSORT:Nardi, Angelo 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Florence 17th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters 1584 births 1664 deaths