Girolamo Curti (1575–1632) 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 ...

, specializing in

quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective di sotto in sù and quadratura, is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, and other ...

Biography

Girolamo Curti - felsinapittricev02malv 0 0168

He was also called ''il Dentone''. He was born to a poor family at

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 worked for cloth spinner till age 25. His first formal training was with the Cremonese painter

Cesare Baglioni Cesare Baglioni (c. 1525–1590, born in Bologna) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. He trained under his father, then became renowned as a painter of quadratura. He painted in Parma and Rome. He befriended both Agostino and An ...

(no evident relation to

Giovanni Baglione Giovanni Baglione (; 1566 – 30 December 1643) was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. Although a prolific painter, Baglione is best remembered for his encyclopedic collection of biographies of the o ...

). He apparently quickly worked independently then rejoined his friend and fellow Bolognese and Baglione pupil,

Lionello Spada Leonello Spada (also called ''Lionello Spada'') (1576 – 17 May 1622) was an Italians, Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Rome and his native city of Bologna, where he became known as one of the followers of Caravaggio. Biogr ...

. Together during the early 17th century, they began to collaborate in quadratura, with Curti painting the structures, while Spada painted the figures. They soon parted, with Spada becoming a canvas painter, and Curti was to travel to paint in

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

(1618 and 1630), Rome (1623) and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. He returned from Rome to Bologna, and there was assisted by Michelangelo Colonna,

Agostino Mitelli Agostino Mitelli (16 March 1609 – 2 August 1660) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period and best known as a fresco painter of quadratura or illusionistic perspectival architectural frameworks. He was born in Sasso Marconi, Battedizzo, ne ...

, and Andrea Seghizzi, and painted architectural backgrounds for

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

frescoes. Much of his work has been lost over the centuries. The main source of his biography is Cesare Malvasia, whose father's villa at Trebbio was frescoed by Curti and assistants.

References

* *''Contributions to Girolamo Curti'', by Ebria Feinblatt. The Burlington Magazine (1975),117(86): pages 342+344-353. 1575 births 1632 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian Baroque painters Quadratura painters Painters from Bologna Fresco painters {{Italy-painter-17thC-stub