''A miracle of St. Francis of Paola'' by Hugford. Ignazio Hugford, or Ignatius Heckford (1703–1778), was an Italian painter active mostly in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

in an early Neoclassic style.

Life and work

Ignazio Hugford was born in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ...

, the son of a resident English watchmaker who worked for the

House of Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the ...

. Hugford was at the age of 9 an apprentice with

Anton Domenico Gabbiani Anton Domenico Gabbiani (13 February 1652 – 22 November 1726) was an Italian painter and active in a late Baroque style. Biography Born in Florence, Gabbiani first apprenticed with the Medici court portrait painter Justus Sustermans, then ...

. In 1745, he painted over a dozen canvases for the refectory of the Benedictine Abbey of

Vallombrosa Vallombrosa is a toponym which indicates both a forest and a '' frazione'', located within this forest, in the territory of the Commune of Reggello, in the Metropolitan City of Florence, in the Italian region of Tuscany. The village of Vallom ...

, where his brother, Ferdinando Enrico, became abbot. Hugford was also instrumental in the development of techniques for

scagliola Scagliola (from the Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inl ...

. Hugford joined the '' Accademia del Disegno'' of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, and published a biography on his mentor. He was also involved in designs for works in scagliola. Among his masterpieces in painting is the '' Countess Matilde Donates her Riches to the Church'' in the church of San Bartolommeo in Pantano in

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a t ...

. In the same Pistoiese church are canvasses of ''St. Peter crosses the fire'' and ''Sant'Atto receives the relics of San Jacopo''. The ''Pieve di S. Andrea a Doccia'' houses an altarpiece of ''Saints Charles Borromeo, Philip Neri and Antonio Abate before a Crucifix'' (1776). His ''Tobias Returns Sight to his Father'' (c. 1741) can be found in the Church of Santa Felicita, Florence.C. Ricci, The Church of Santa Felicita in Florence (Florence: Mandragora, 2000), 27. Hugford died in Florence. Nowadays he is more known as a critic, art scholar, and for his efforts as an agent for collectors. Among his pupils were

Francesco Bartolozzi __NOTOC__ Francesco Bartolozzi (21 September 1727, in Florence – 7 March 1815, in Lisbon) was an Italian engraver, whose most productive period was spent in London. He is noted for popularizing the "crayon" method of engraving. Early life B ...

, Lamberto Cristiano Gori,

Giovanni Battista Cipriani Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727 – 14 December 1785) was an Italian painter and engraver, who lived in England from 1755. He is also called Giuseppe Cipriani by some authors. Much of his work consisted of designs for prints, many of whic ...

(Giuseppe Cipriani), and Sante Pacini.

Notes

References

*Giovanna Perini, "Dresden and the Italian art market in the eighteenth century: Ignazio Hugford and Giovanni Ludovic Harrier eagles", '' The Burlington Magazine '', 1993, vol. 135, not. 1085, pp. 550–559. * Bruce Cole; Ulrich Middeldorf. ''Masaccio, Lippi, or Hugford?'', ''The Burlington Magazine ''(1971) pp. 500–505, 507. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hugford, Ignazio 1703 births 1778 deaths People from Pisa 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Tuscany Italian neoclassical painters Italian people of English descent Italian art critics Italian art historians 18th-century Italian male artists