Marco Liberi - Portrait of Pietro Liberi

Pietro (Libertino) Liberi (1605 – 18 October 1687) 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 ...

era, active mainly 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 ...

and the Veneto.

Biography

Liberi was born in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, his earliest training was with

Alessandro Varotari Alessandro Leone Varotari (4 April 1588 – 20 July 1649), also commonly known as Il Padovanino, was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist and early-Baroque Venetian school, best known for having mentored Pietro Liberi, Giulio Carpioni, an ...

(''il Padovanino''). He had an adventure-filled life. He traveled extensively in Italy. During a voyage to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, he was captured into bondage for 8 months by pirates from

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. Released through Malta, he visited Sicily, Naples, and Pisa. For a few years in his life, he became a mercenary with the forces of cavaliere Antonio Manfredini, who was fighting for the Duchy of Tuscany against the ''Saracens''. He fought to capture the Castle of Sichia, in present

İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...

in Turkey. After the campaign, he returned to

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, and in 1637, traveled to Lisbon, visited Liguria, the Southern coast of France and Madrid. Back in Tuscany, he focused again on painting, travelling to Rome. There he was a roommate of the engraver

Stefano della Bella Stefano della Bella (18 May 1610 – 12 July 1664) was an Italian draughtsman and printmaker known for etchings of a great variety of subjects, including military and court scenes, landscapes, and lively genre scenes. He left 1052 prints, and sev ...

. In Rome, he painted a ''Rape of the Sabines'' for

Leopoldo de' Medici Leopoldo de' Medici (6 November 1617 – 10 November 1675) was an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and Governor of Siena. He was the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Biography Prince Leopoldo was born at ...

. He returned to

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 ...

to paint a ceiling in the Oratory of San Filippo Neri. He traveled to Venice in 1643, painting ''Evangelists'' for the church of the Ospedaletto. He also painted a large altarpiece (1650) for the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. He painted a ''St Anthony of Padua with Venice in prayer'' for the church of the

Salute A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sc ...

. In 1662, he was knighted by the Doge Francesco Molino. He was nicknamed ''il Libertino'' due to his frequent choice of salacious themes in cabinet pieces. He painted frescoes of the ''Battle of the Dardanelles'' for the

Doge's palace The Doge's Palace (''Doge'' pronounced ; ; ) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and th ...

; the ''Slaughter of the Innocents'' for the church of the Ognissanti in Venice; ''Noah leaving the Ark'' in the cathedral at

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

; and the ''Deluge'' at Santa Maria Maggiore at

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. He is represented at for example

Kadriorg Palace Kadriorg Palace (, ) is an 18th-century Petrine Baroque palace in Kadriorg, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Both the Estonian and the German names for the palace mean "Catherine's valley". It was built in 1718–1725 to Nicola Michetti's desi ...

, part of the

Art Museum of Estonia The Art Museum of Estonia () was established in 1919. Originally based in Kadriorg Palace, the museum has expanded across several sites and today exhibits both international and local art works. At the end of the 1970s, in the 1980s the first br ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. His masterpiece is likely the altarpiece of ''Sant' Elena finding the Cross'' for the church of San Moisè in Venice. Marco Liberi, his son, was also a painter. Other pupils include Giannantonio Lazzari. Biografia degli artistiby Filippo de Boni, page 542.

References

Pietro Liberi : cavaliere e fenice dei pittori author: Chiara Accornero Publisher Zel. Edizione, Treviso, Italy (2013)

External links

Artcyclopedia entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberi, Pietro 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Venice Italian Baroque painters Painters from Padua 1605 births 1687 deaths Fresco painters