Jacopo Amigoni (c. 1685 – September 1752), also named Giacomo Amiconi, was an Italian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

of the late-

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 ...

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

period, who began his career in

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 ...

, but traveled and was prolific throughout Europe, where his sumptuous

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s were much in demand.

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

. Amigoni initially painted both mythological and religious scenes; but as the panoply of his patrons expanded northward, he began producing many parlour works depicting gods in sensuous languor or games. His style influenced Giuseppe Nogari. Among his pupils were Charles Joseph Flipart, Michelangelo Morlaiter, Pietro Antonio Novelli, Joseph Wagner, and Antonio Zucchi. Starting in 1717, he is documented as working in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in the Castle of Nymphenburg (1719); in the castle of Schleissheim (1725–1729); and in the Benedictine abbey of

Ottobeuren Ottobeuren ( Swabian: ''Ottobeire'', Medieval Latin: ''Ottobura'') is a market town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany, located 11 km southeast of Memmingen near the A7. It is famous for Ottobeuren Abbey, situated next to the Basilica. Th ...

. He returned to Venice in 1726. His ''Arraignment of Paris'' hangs in the Villa Pisani at Stra. From 1730 to 1739 he worked in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in Pown House, Moor Park Wolterton Hall and in the theatre of Covent Garden. From there, he helped convince

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of cityscapes or ...

to travel to England by telling him of the ample patronage available. In London or during a trip to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1736, he met the celebrated

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli ...

, whose portrait he painted twice in 1735 and again in 1752. Amigoni also encountered the painting of

François Lemoyne François Lemoyne or François Le Moine (; 1688 – 4 June 1737) was a French rococo painter. He was a winner of the Prix de Rome, professor of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, and '' Premier peintre du Roi'' to Louis XV. He wa ...

and

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

. In 1739 he returned to Italy, perhaps to Naples and surely to

Montecassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house ...

, in whose Abbey existed two canvases (destroyed during World War II). He travelled to Venice to paint for Sigismund Streit, for the Casa Savoia and other buildings of the city. In 1747 he left Italy for Madrid, encouraged by Farinelli, who held a court appointment there. He became

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

Ferdinand VI of Spain Ferdinand VI (; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned (''el Prudente'') and the Just (''el Justo''), was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the ...

and director of the Royal Academy of Saint Fernando. He painted a group portrait that included himself, Farinelli, Metastasio, Teresa Castellini, and an unidentified young man. The young man may have been the Austrian Archduke Joseph, the Habsburg heir to the throne. Amigoni died in Madrid. Amigoni was the father of the pastellist

Caterina Amigoni Castellini Caterina Amigoni Castellini () was an Italian pastellist living in the History of Spain (1700–1808), Spanish Empire. Castellini was the daughter of Venetian painter Jacopo Amigoni; after his 1738 marriage to mezzo-soprano Maria Antonia Marchesi ...

, and the brother of the artist Carlotta Amigoni.

Partial anthology

''Consul Marcus Curius Dentatus prefers turnips to the Samnites' gifts''''Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach''

Print after Amigoni of ''Princess Amelia Sophia Eleanora''

Prints after portraits by Amigoni.

''Venus and Adonis''

Gallery

File:Jacopo Amigoni - Bacchus and Ariadne - Google Art Project.jpg, Bacchus and Ariadne, 1740 File:Jacopo Amigoni - Venus and Adonis.jpg, Venus and Adonis File:Circa 1750 portrait painting of the Infanta Maria Antonia of Spain (1729-1785) by Jacopo Amigoni (Prado).jpg, The Infanta María Antonia of Spain, Daughter of Philip V, 1750 File:Jacopo Amigoni (1682-1752) - Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707-51) - RCIN 401500 - Royal Collection.jpg,

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

, 1735 File:Jacopo amigoni, il cantante farinelli con amici, 1750-52 circa.JPG, The singer

and friends, 1750 or 1752 File:Jacopo Amigoni – Ritratto di Farinelli.jpg, Portrait of the singer Carlo Broschi named Farinelli, 1734/1735

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amigoni, Jacopo 1682 births 1752 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Rococo painters Painters from Venice Italian court painters Painters from Naples Religious painters 18th-century Italian male artists