Stefano Maria Legnani also known as "Legnanino" (

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 6 April 1661 – Milan, 4 May 1713) was an Italian painter 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 ...

period, active mainly in

.Casellato , ''LEGNANI, Stefano Maria, detto il Legnanino''
in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 64 (2005) He is considered one of the most innovative exponents of the Milanese school of painting of around the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.''Il Legnanino, genio della pittura barocca''
8 December 2013 at the Museo del Territorio Vimercatese

Life

Legnanino was born in Milan as the first born son of the painter Giovanni Ambrogio Legnani and Isabella Bussola. His grandfather Tommaso Legnani was also a painter. Legnanino - St

Legnanino likely received his first art training with his father. It has been conjectured that subsequently he went on to work in the studio of

Carlo Cignani Carlo Cignani (; 15 May 1628 – 8 September 1719) was an Italian painter. His innovative style referred to as his 'new manner' introduced a reflective, intimate mood of painting and presaged the later pictures of Guido Reni and Guercino, as well ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

from 1683 to 1686, and then apprenticed with

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (18 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian Baroque painter and Drawing, draughtsman, active principallly in Rome where he was the leading painter in the second half of the 17th century. He was a fresco and canvas painte ...

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, ...

. However, neither of these apprenticeships are confirmed by documentation. On 30 October 1694 the artist married Caterina Sanpietro, with whom he had three daughters. In that year he also received an important commission from Count Ottavio Provana di Druent to paint a series of celebratory frescoes in his residence, today known as Palazzo Falletti Barolo. The works he realised there established his reputation and were instrumental in him obtaining in 1695 a very prestigious commission to create the fresco decorations for the new palace of

Emmanuel Philibert, Prince of Carignano Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, 2nd Prince of Carignano (20 August 1628 – 23 April 1709), was the son and heir of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano. He constructed the Palazzo Carignano in Turin. Biography He was born deaf in Moûtiers in ...

. This palace had been designed by

Guarino Guarini Camillo Guarino Guarini (17 January 16246 March 1683) was an Italian architect of the Piedmontese Baroque architecture, Baroque, active in Turin as well as Sicily, Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal. He was a Theatines, ...

. In 1695 Legnanino joined the local Academy of St. Lucas, and became its director in 1698. In 1703 he bought a noble residence in Milan for which he paid a high price, a sign of his success. Legnanino - Nativity with in the background the civic tower and the church of San Lorenzo

Legnanino - Nativity with in the background the civic tower and the church of San Lorenzo

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

, he painted the cupola of San Gaudenzio. In Milan, he painted frescoes of the life of St James at the church of Sant'Angelo. He also painted frescoes in the

Cathedral of Monza The Duomo of Monza (), often known in English as Monza Cathedral, is the main religious building of Monza, Italy. Unlike most duomo, duomi, it is not in fact a cathedral, as Monza has always been part of the Diocese of Milan, but is in the charge ...

. He also painted in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. Legnanino died in Milan on 4 May 1713 at the age of 52.

Work

The artist was a canvas and fresco painter whose principal works were religious compositions painted for the various religious institutions and churches in and around Milan. He also painted important commissions in the palaces of the local aristocracy. His work shows the influence of

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

and

Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, ...

in his palette, mixed with the tradition of Roman classicism. In his compositions the architectural structures and the figures merge seamlessly and he blends nuanced shades and bright colors.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Legnani, Stefano Maria 1661 births 1713 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters Painters from Milan Italian Baroque painters Pupils of Carlo Maratta Fresco painters 18th-century Italian male artists