Crescenzio Onofri or Crescenzio d'Onofri (Rome, 23 May 1634 – Florence, 1712/1714) was an Italian landscape painter, draughtsman and engraver who worked in Rome and Florence. A presumed pupil of Gaspard Dughet he collaborated with many specialist figure painters of his time.Crescenzio Onofri (Rome 1632(?)-after 1712 Florence), ''An extensive landscape with a villa, figures in trees in the foreground''
at Bonhams.

Life

Information about Onofri's early life is scarce. Crescenzio Onofri was born in Rome but the date of his birth is not entirely clear and dates vary from 1630 to 1650. Onofri is believed to have been one of the few pupils of Gaspard Dughet. Dughet was a painter of French descent who spent his whole life in Italy, where he became a pupil of

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

and a prominent landscape painter of the Roman Campagna. Onofri worked in Rome for at least 20 years. He was involved in many decorative projects in the residences of prominent Roman families such as Pamphili, Rospigliosi, Pallavicini and Colonna families. In 1675 he was listed as a member of the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...

, one of the most prestigious organisations of artists in Rome.Classical Landscape
at the National Inventory of Continental European Paintings Onofri moved to Florence but art historians are not unanimous about the date of this move. Some place his transfer to Florence as early as 1689 and others in 1696.Crescenzio Onofrij
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

He worked until his death in circa 1712 in the service of the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

. In this period he is known to have collaborated with various artists who painted the figures in his landscapes, including

Livio Mehus Lieven Mehus or Livio Mehus (1630, in Oudenaarde – 7 August 1691, in Florence) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver of the Baroque period, who trained and worked in Italy. He was mainly active in Florence where he w ...

, Francesco Petrucci and

Alessandro Magnasco Alessandro Magnasco (February 4, 1667 – March 12, 1749), also known as il Lissandrino, was an Italian late-Baroque painter active mostly in Milan and Genoa. He is best known for stylized, fantastic, often phantasmagoric genre or landscape sce ...

Work

Onofri was exclusively a landscape painter. He was one of the landscape artists whose style comes the closest to Dughet's Roman work. Typical of Onofrio's work are his carefully balanced compositions, which go back on the model of the classical landscape established in the early 17th century by

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 his pupils and in which the narrative element is reduced. Crescenzio Onofri - Landscape in Lazio with Hermit

The so-called 'ideal' landscape of the first half of the 17th century had in fact created compositional formulas that served as a model for numerous Italian and foreign artists. This style of classical landscape had an extraordinary development in the 17th and 18th centuries as is illustrated by the works of Dughet and

Jan Frans van Bloemen Jan Frans van Bloemen (baptized 12 May 1662 - buried 13 June 1749)Vici 1974, pp. 222, 225. was a Flemish landscape painter mainly active in Rome. Here he was able to establish himself as the leading painter of views ( vedute) of the Roman count ...

. The success and spread of this genre of painting was linked to the preferences of the market and the taste of private clients. Important masters practicing the genre included

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

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 era. He spent most of his life in I ...

and Gaspard Dughet, the master of Onofri.Crescenzio Onofri, ''Paesaggio con pastori e armenti''
at the Banca d’Italia The numerous drawings by his hand demonstrate that Onofri was familiar with the works of the Bolognese artist

Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker and architect. He was an accomplished fresco painter of classical landscapes which were popular with leading Roman families. Life Grimaldi w ...

particularly in his meticulous technique of representing the foliage of trees. In his later years the artist evolved towards a looser and more painterly style.Onofri, Crescenzio
at the Prado Museum site

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onofri, Crescenzio 1634 births 1714 deaths Italian Baroque painters Painters from Tuscany Italian draughtsmen 18th-century Italian painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian landscape painters 18th-century Italian male artists