Pietro Dandini (12 April 1646 – 26 November 1712) 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

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 ...

Biography

He is also called ''Pier Dandini''. He was the son (or nephew) and pupil of the painter Vincenzo Dandini. Pietro's uncle,

Cesare Dandini Cesare Dandini (1 October 1596– 7 February 1657) was an Italian Baroque painter, active mainly in his native city of Florence. Biography He was the older brother of the painter Vincenzo Dandini (1609–1675). His nephew, Pietro Dandini, P ...

, was a prominent painter in Florence. Vincenzo's sons,

Ottaviano Ottaviano (; known until 1933 as Ottaiano in Italian) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region of Campania, located about east of Naples and is located in the Vesuvian Area. Ottaviano was in Roman times a h ...

and Vincenzo Dandini the younger also became painters. Among his pupils as

Valerio Baldassarri Valerio or Valério is a male given name in several languages, derived from the Roman surname Valerius, which itself is derived from the Latin verb ''valere'', meaning "to be strong". Valerio is a relatively common given name in Italy, while its i ...

of Pescia, Father Alberico Carlini of Vellano, Gaetano Santarelli Giovanna Fratellini, and

Giovanni Cinqui Giovanni Cinqui or Giovanni del Cinque (Scarperia, 1667 -1743) was an Italian painter. Biography He trained in Florence under Pietro Dandini, He worked in the court of Cosimo III de' Medici, Cosimo III. He painted in the Villa Medicea dell'Ambrog ...

. In addition to having training within the family, he traveled to Bologna, Modena, Venice, and Rome to learn about art.''Pittorico''
Pellegrino Antonio Orlandi, Bolognese, 1723, page 365. As a painter, Dandini's styles are eclectic, as reflected in his travels, though he has the high-minded graciousness and delicacy characteristic of Florentine Baroque. Pietro was strongly patronized by members of the

Medici Family The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

, including prince Ferdinand and the Grand Duke. He completed a number of ecclesiastical commissions in Florence, including frescoes in the vault for San Jacopo Soprarno; in the chapel of San Bernardo in the church of San Frediano; in the lunettes for

San Giovannino degli Scolopi The church of San Giovannino degli Scolopi is a minor church in the center of Florence, located on Via Martelli corner with Via Gori. From 1351 to 1554, the church was known as ''San Giovanni Evangelista'', since the site had a small oratory dedi ...

; and in the dome of the main chapel of the church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi depicting the ''Ascension of St Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi surrounded by Florentine Saints'' (1701). He also painted an altarpiece depicting the ''Beheading of John the Baptist'' for the church of

San Giovannino dei Cavalieri San Giovannino dei Cavalieri (''Young St. John the Baptist of the Knights'') previously named Church of San Giovanni Decollato (Decapitated St. John), is a parish church situated in Via San Gallo in central Florence, Italy. Initially the site held ...

; a ''St Francis'' in

Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

in Rome; an altarpiece in the Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria in Pisa; an altarpiece of ''God the Father'' for the Santuario della Madonna del Giglio of

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

; an ''Adoration of the Magi'' for the Church of Santa Croce in Vinci, Italy; and painting in the former convent of San Francesco de' Macci. Other works in situ include frescoes in the Capella Nuova of

Villa La Petraia Villa La Petraia is one of the Medici villas in Castello, Florence, Tuscany, central Italy. It has a distinctive 19th-century Belvedere (structure), belvedere on the upper east terrace on axis with the view of Florence. History In 1364, the "p ...

; murals for Villa Bellavista near Pistoia; and in the Florentine Palazzo Corsini. He painted a large canvas of the ''Battle of Vienna'' in 1683 (now lost) for the auditor Filippo Lucci, which won the admiration of contemporary critics such as Francesco Saverio Baldinucci, from whom we can derive the most biographical information about Pietro's life. The

Palazzo Montecitorio Palazzo Montecitorio () is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament. History The palace's name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the ''Mons Ci ...

in Rome has a series of paintings of the ''Four Seasons''. He also painted some pastoral and rustic scenes.

Gallery

San Giovannino dei cavalieri, pier dandini, decollazione del battista.JPG, ''Decollation of St John the Baptist'', San Giovannino dei Cavalieri, Florence San Jacopo Soprarno, interno, altare maggiore pier dandini vocazione di san jacopo.JPG, ''Vocation of St Jacob'', San Jacopo Soprarno, Florence Nascita di maria, dandini.jpg, ''Birth of the Virgin'', Duomo,

San Gimignano San Gimignano (; named after St. Geminianus) is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Five Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the pr ...

Santa maria del giglio, altare.jpg, Altarpiece, Church of Santa Maria del Giglio,

Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi (Florence) - Dome of Cappella Maggiore.jpg, Dome, Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, Florence Chiesa di san gaetano, sacrestia, pier dandini, san gaetano presenta la chiesa alla trinità accompagnato dalla fede.JPG, ''St Cajetan dedicates church to the Trinity and Faith'',

San Gaetano, Florence San Gaetano, also known as Santi Michele e Gaetano, is a Baroque architecture, Baroque church in Florence, Italy, located on the Piazza Antinori#History, Antinori, entrusted to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. History A Romane ...

Villa_La_Nerlaia,_interno,_salone,_soffitto_02.jpg, Ceiling fresco, Villa La Nerlaia

References

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Entry by Evelina Borea in Dizionario Treccani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dandini, Pietro 1646 births 1712 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Painters from Florence Italian Baroque painters 18th-century Italian male artists