Giovanni Battista Cipriani
Giovanni Battista Cipriani | |
---|---|
Born | 1727 Florence, Italy |
Died | 14 December 1785 (aged 57–58) Hammersmith, England |
Nationality | Italian |
Known for | painting |
Giovanni Battista Cipriani
Life
Cipriani was born in Florence. His family were originally from Pistoia. He first studied with Ignatius Hugford, a Florentine artist of English descent, and then under Anton Domenico Gabbiani. He spent the years 1750–53 in Rome, where he became acquainted with the architect, Sir William Chambers, and the sculptor, Joseph Wilton whom he accompanied to England in August 1755.[4]
He had already painted two pictures, a St Tesauro and St Peter Igneo for the abbey of San Michele in Pelago, Pistoia, which had brought him a favorable reputation. He also painted one of the canvases of the organ of the church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in Florence and the main altarpiece of the church of the Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino outside of the Porta San Gallo.[5]
On his arrival to England he was patronized by
At Somerset House, also built by his friend Chambers, he prepared the decorations for the interior of the north block, including the rooms into which the Royal Academy moved in 1750,[4] which now houses the Courtauld Gallery[6] The central panel of the Royal Academy's ante-room was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds[6] but the four compartments in the coves, representing Allegory, Fable, Nature and History, were Cipriani's.[4] In the same building he also painted the monochrome decorations in the joint ante-room of the Royal and Antiquarian Societies.[6]
According to
Cipriani was a founder member (1768) of the Royal Academy, and designed its diploma, which was engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi. In recognition of his services in this respect the members presented him with a silver cup with a commemorative inscription in 1769. He was much employed by publishers, for whom he made drawings in pen and ink, sometimes coloured. His friend Bartolozzi engraved most of them. Cipriani made some engravings, including "The Death of Cleopatra," after Benvenuto Cellini; "The Descent of the Holy Ghost," after Gabbiani; and portraits for Thomas Hollis's memoirs, 1780. He painted allegorical designs for the Gold State Coach and the Lord Mayor's Gold Coach, built in 1762 and 1757 respectively in 1782, and repaired Verrio's paintings at Windsor and Rubens's ceiling in the Banqueting House at Whitehall.[4]
He also decorated furniture. He designed many groups, of
Cipriani died in Hammersmith in west London, and was buried at Dovehouse Green, Chelsea,[8] where Bartolozzi erected a monument to his memory. He had married an Englishwoman, by whom he had two sons.[9]
Among his pupils were John Alexander Gresse (1741–1794); Charles Grignion the Younger (1754–1804); and Mauritius Lowe (1746–1793).[10]
References
- National Portrait Gallery
- ^ Visentini, Margherita Azzi (1981). "CIPRIANI, Giovanni Battista". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 25.
- ^ Saltini, Guglielmo Enrico (1862). Le Arti Belle in Toscana da mezzo il Secolo XVIII ai di Nostri (book). Florence: Tipografia Le Monnier. p. 44.
- ^ a b c d e f Chisholm 1911, p. 379.
- ^ GE Saltini.
- ^ a b c Bradley, Simon; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2003). London 6: Westminster. The Buildings of England. Yale University Press.
- ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 379–30.
- ^ "New Page 1".
- ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 380.
- ^ *Hobbes, James R. (1849). Picture collector's manual adapted to the professional man, and the amateur. London: T&W Boone. pp. 52–53.
Attribution:
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cipriani, Giovanni Battista". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 379–380. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Fagan, Louis Alexander (1887). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 10. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In