Mario Balassi (1604–1667) 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 in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Biography

He was born in Florence in 1604, and dedicated himself from a young age to artistic education, first as an apprentice to

Jacopo Ligozzi Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627) was an Italian painter, illustrator, designer, and miniaturist. His art can be categorized as late-Renaissance and Mannerism, Mannerist styles. Biography Born in Verona, he was the son of the artist Giovanni Erma ...

, a Veronese artist active in Florence. When this master died, he passed to the school of

Matteo Rosselli Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter-Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first appr ...

, where he remained until the age of 18 years. Finally he became a pupil of

Domenico Passignano Domenico Passignano (1559 – 17 May 1638), born Domenico Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Counter-''Maniera'' ( Counter-Mannerism) style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century. Biography ...

, and accompanied this master as his collaborator to Rome to work under the papacy of Pope Urban VIII. But in Rome he also worked on his own behalf, performing a ''Noli me Tangere'' for the church of San Caio (now destroyed) and produced a copy of ''Raphael's Transfiguration'' for Don

Taddeo Barberini Taddeo Barberini (1603–1647) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina and Gonfalonier of the Church; commander of the Papal Army. He was a nephew of Pope Urban VIII and brother of Cardinals Francesc ...

(now found in the church of the Cappuccini): the latter was praised by Passignano and

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

, who said that "Mario had not copied it, but detached it from Raphael's painting". When he lost a commission for a painting depicting the Crucifixion (at first commissioned to Balassi, but finally entrusted instead to

Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the '' ...

), he left the patronage of the Piccolomini and embarked on the journey through Italy. He stayed in Venice for some time, where he derived, according to Baldinucci, significant enrichments to his artistic personality. Returning to his homeland, he executed a significant number of altar paintings for many churches in Florence, Prato, and Empoli. For example in Florence, he painted a ''St Francis of Assisi'' for the ''Compagnia delle Stimmate''. He also painted a ''Noli me tangere'' ('' Touch Me Not'') for the convent of the Maddalena. For the church of

Sant'Agostino, Prato Sant'Agostino is a Romanesque-style brick church in central Prato, Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Flore ...

, he painted a picture of ''St Nicolas of Tolentino''. He died in Florence on 9 October 1667 and was buried in Santa Maria Novella. His art is visibly influenced by the heterogeneous education of his youth, as well as by the multiple orientations of the contemporaries and the different environments in which the artist found himself. If in some works the traces of Passignano and of Ligozzi are clearly recognizable, in others they play elements extraneous to the Florentine environment, probably acquired during the Roman stay; while in some, as in the San Nicola da Tolentino of Prato, the "echoes of the Flemish-Caravaggio world" are evident. Among the stylistic components of the eclectic painter, however, is the derivation from the art of Matteo Rosselli.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balassi, Mario 1604 births 1667 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Baroque painters Painters from Florence