Bernardino Castelli (15 June 1750,

Arsiè Arsiè is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,748 and an area of .All demogra ...

- 24 February 1810,

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 ...

) was an Italian painter of portraits and religious figures.

Biography

He displayed artistic talent at an early age, taking his first lessons in

Feltre Feltre (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about from its junction with the Piave, and southwest from Bell ...

from a local artist named Giovanni D'Antonio and helping to decorate the Villa Franzoia in

Quero Quero may refer to: People * Diego Arias Quero (born 1999), Chilean football player * Edgar Quero (born 2003), Cuban baseball player in MLB * Eduin Quero (born 1997), Venezuelan football player * Félix Quero (born 1982), Spanish football pla ...

. His work there impressed the Canon, Alvise Franzoia, who took him to

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

and presented him to Bishop who offered to take him under his protection and helped him to continue his studies.Brief biography
@ the

Enciclopedia Treccani Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani a ...

. His first major work was a portrait of the Bishop, which brought requests for more portraits by other prelates in the area and launched him on a career as a portrait painter. He also did a painting of Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani for the chapel of the Treviso Seminary, a

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

for the parish of Rasai in

Seren del Grappa Seren del Grappa is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,586 and an area of .Al ...

and a

Saint Spyridon Spyridon, also Spyridon of Tremithus (Greek: ; c. 270 – 348), is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. Life Spyridon was born in Assia, in Cyprus. He worked as a shepherd and was known for his great piety. ...

for the parish of Coste in

Maser A maser is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves ( microwaves), through amplification by stimulated emission. The term is an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Nikolay Basov, Alexander Pr ...

. In 1772, he was commissioned by the Dominicans at the church of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

to do several portraits, restore others, and create a gallery in the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

, which was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1944. Three years later, at the invitation of Bishop Giustiniani and his brother, Castelli moved to

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, where he became a private portrait painter. In 1782, after establishing his reputation, he went to Venice and joined the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia The (English: Academy of Fine Arts of Venice) is a public tertiary academy of art in Venice, Italy. History The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia was founded on 24 September 1750; the statute dates from 1756. The first director was Giovann ...

. His sitters there included the

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Paolo Renier Paolo Renier (21 November 1710 – 13 February 1789) was a Venetian statesman, the 119th Doge of Venice, and penultimate, from 1779 until his death. He was a noted orator, and served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and to Austria. His el ...

and

Ludovico Manin Lodovico Giovanni Manin (; ; 14 May 1725 – 24 October 1802) was a Venetian politician, patrician, and the 120th and last Doge of Venice. He governed the Venetian Republic from 9 March 1789 until its fall in 1797, when he was forced to ...

as well as Popes

Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

and

Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

. Ten years later, he relocated to

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 ...

and became a member of the "Accademia Clementina" (now the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna ('academy of fine arts of Bologna') is a public tertiary academy of fine art in Bologna, Italy. It has a campus in Cesena. Giorgio Morandi taught engraving at the Accademia for more than 25 years. His ...

). He also worked briefly in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

. Later, he turned down an invitation by

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...

to come to Rome, and returned to Venice. Despite his fame as a portraitist, he never abandoned religious themes and was known as the "painter of beautiful Madonnas". One of his last works was a depiction of Susanna and the Elders, painted as part of a competition organized by Girolamo Manfrin, a tobacco merchant who was also a patron of the arts. A canvas of Saint Gerolamo collecting money for orphans was left unfinished and completed by Liberale Cozza.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castelli, Bernardino 1750 births 1810 deaths Painters from the Republic of Venice 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters Painters from Venice Italian portrait painters Academic staff of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists