thumb|250px|right|Vanitas or The old Coquette

Bernardo Strozzi, named il Cappuccino and il Prete Genovese (c. 1581 – 2 August 1644), was an Italian Baroque artist who was a painter and engraver. A canvas and fresco artist, his wide subject range included history, allegorical, genre, and portrait paintings as well as still lifes. Born and initially mainly active in Genoa, he worked in Venice in the latter part of his career. His work exercised considerable influence on artistic developments in both cities. He is considered a principal founder of the Baroque style in Venetian painting. His powerful art stands out by its rich and glowing colour and broad, energetic brushstrokes. In 1598, at the age of 17, Strozzi joined a Capuchin monastery, a reformist offshoot of the Franciscan order. While a friar of the Capuchin monastery of San Barnaba, he came to be called by the nickname "il Cappuccino" ("the Capuchin"). Since he was allowed to abandon his Capuchin habit for that of a priest, he was also known as il prete genovese (the 'genovese priest').

When his father died around 1608, Strozzi left the Capuchin monastery to care for his mother and unmarried sister. He supported his family through his paintings. Some authors state that the act was the illegal practice of painting beyond the convent's walls. His arrest lasted for about 17 to 18 months. is particularly close to Caravaggio in style and treatment of this subject, while still retaining certain Mannerist characteristics. His style continued at the same time to reveal the strong influence of Rubens as is shown in Allegorical figure (Minerva?) (mid-1630s, Cleveland Museum of Art), which unites the robust forms and brilliant colours of Rubens with the warm atmosphere of Venetian art.

thumb|250px|Portrait of a Maltese Knight

His latest works are luminous and sketchy, as can be seen in the David with the Head of Goliath (after 1640, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam) and the Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well (after 1630, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden). His Lute Player (after 1640; Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna) exudes a poetic mood likely derived from his study of the work of Giorgione.

Genre paintings

Strozzi was likely inspired by Flemish genre scenes as well as the Caravaggist models to create a group of genre works. Best known of these works is The Cook which exists in many versions (c. 1625, Palazzo Rosso, Genoa, and 1630–40, the Scottish National Gallery). This work goes back to Pieter Aertsen's The Cook (1559; Palazzo Bianco, Genoa) as well as the work of Jan Roos. Strozzi's use of coloured shadows is indebted to Rubens, but rather than adopting Rubens' practice of allowing a light-coloured ground to occasionally emerge on to the surface, Strozzi worked on a reddish-brown ground with light brushstrokes in paler colours. It is known that he painted still lifes throughout his career and included still life elements in many of his compositions. An example are the still lifes of game in his work The Cook.

thumb|290px|left|Still life with flowers in a glass vase and fruits on a ledge

The Still life with flowers in a glass vase and fruits on a ledge (At Sotheby's on 3 July 2013 London, lot 35) is one of the few still lifes by Strozzi that is generally accepted as fully autograph. The design is simple as most objects are placed on a similar pictorial plane. The composition invokes Caravaggio's Still life of fruits and flowers in a basket (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan) in the gentle light entering the scene from the left and the cream background. As was his custom, Strozzi applied the paint thickly throughout the design. In Venice, Ermanno Stroiffi, Francesco Maffei, Girolamo Forabosco and certain works by Pietro della Vecchia (also known as Pietro Muttoni) also show the influence of Strozzi.

Further reading

  • Gavazza, E. et al., eds.,Bernardo Strozzi, Genova 1581/82–Venezia 1644 (exhibition catalogue, Palazzo Ducale, Genoa), Milan, 1995
  • Spicer, J., ed., Bernardo Strozzi: Master Painter of the Italian Baroque (exhibition catalogue, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore), Baltimore 1995
  • Pallucchini, A., La pittura veneziana del Seicento, Milan 1993
  • Krawietz, C., "Bernardo Strozzi", in The Dictionary of Art (ed. by Jan Shoaf Turner), London, 1996
  • Hansen, M.S. and J.Spicer, eds., Masterpieces of Italian Painting, The Walters Art Museum, London 2005, no. 43
  • Camillo Manzitti, "Gioacchino Assereto: tangenze giovanili con Bernardo Strozzi e nuove testimonianze figurative", in "Paragone, n. 663, Maggio 2005.

References