Francesco Guarino or Guarini (1611 – 1651 or 1654) was an Italian painter of the

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 mainly in the mountainous area east of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

called

Irpinia Irpinia ( Modern Latin ''Hirpinia'') is a geographical and cultural region of Southern Italy. It was the inland territory of the ancient '' Hirpini'' tribe, and its extent matches approximately today's province of Avellino. Geography The territ ...

, and in other areas of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

, chiefly

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, and

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

Biography

He was born in Sant'Andrea Apostolo, today a of

Solofra Solofra (Irpino, Solofrano: , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Geography The town is bordered by Aiello del Sabato, Calvanico (Province of Salerno, SA), Contrada (AV), Contrada, M ...

in the

Province of Avellino The province of Avellino () is a province in the Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea ...

, and died in

Gravina in Puglia Gravina in Puglia (; ; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. The word ''gravina'' comes from the Latin ''grava'' or from the messapic ''graba'', with the meaning of ''rock'', ''shaft'' and ''erosi ...

. He was a pupil first locally of his father, Giovanni Tommaso Guarino, before moving to

to work in the studio of

Massimo Stanzione Massimo Stanzione (also called Stanzioni; Frattamaggiore 1585 – Naples 1656) was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples, where he and his rival Jusepe de Ribera dominated the painting scene for several decades. He was primarily a ...

. In Naples, like many of his contemporaries there, he was influenced by the style of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

. In his selection of models who appear to have been plucked from the streets of Naples, he recalls the style of

Bernardo Cavallino Bernardo Cavallino (1616–1656) was an Italian painter and draughtsman. He is regarded as one of the most original painters active in Naples during the first half of the 17th century.Ann Percy. "Cavallino, Bernardo." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art ...

, the fellow-pupil of Stanzioni. Among his masterpieces are the works for Collegiata di San Michele Arcangelo in

References

Short biography

External links

''Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on Francesco Guarino (see index) 1611 births 1650s deaths People from the Province of Avellino Painters from Campania 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Baroque painters Painters from Naples Caravaggisti {{Italy-painter-17thC-stub