Carlo Ridolfi
Encyclopedia
Carlo Ridolfi was an Italian
art biographer and painter of the Baroque
period.
near Vicenza
, and died in Venice
. He was a pupil of the painter Antonio Vassilacchi
(Aliense). He painted a Visitation for the Ognissanti and an Adoration of the Magi for San Giovanni Elemosinario
in Venice. However he was certainly best known, in his own day and ever since, as an author on art. Carlo Ridolfi was also an important collector of drawings, such as Giorgio Vasari
. Many of these drawings are conserved in the Christ Church Library (Oxford
).
) in 1642. He was awarded the knighthood of the Golden Cross by Pope Innocent X and a chain of gold and a medal of St. Mark by the Republic of Venice, essentially for his books rather than his painting. Subsequent Venetian chroniclers who have quoted Ridolfi include Marco Boschini
, Antonio Maria Zanetti
, Luigi Lanzi
.
As Vasari's Vite was famously weaker on Venetian painters than Florentine ones, Ridolfi remains an important source for Venetian painting between the beginning of the Renaissance and his own day, although his accuracy is often doubted, and many of his numerous attributions, especially to Giorgione
, are no longer accepted:"...the enormous number of paintings attributed to Giorgione by Ridolfi gravely weakens his authority".
One purpose of his work was to supply a corrective to Vasari, and just as Vasari ascribes all progress in art to Florentines, Ridolfi attempts something similar for the Venetian tradition, with its closer connection to Byzantine art. He was well educated in the classics, and his style is much given to rhetorical flourishes, classical comparisons and references to poetry, whilst rather lacking Vasari's talent for telling anecdote. He approached the larger lives in a scholarly fashion, and quoted many documents, often now vanished, that remain invaluable to art historians. His work gives great insight into the way art was seen in his own day, as well as during the lives of his subjects.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
art biographer and painter of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
period.
Painter
He was born in LonigoLonigo
Lonigo is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16.000 inhabitants.In its frazione of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani, a Renaissance patrician villa designed by Andrea Palladio, which is part of a World Heritage Site...
near Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
, and died in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. He was a pupil of the painter Antonio Vassilacchi
Antonio Vassilacchi
Antonio Vassilacchi, also called L'Aliense, was a Greekpainter, who was active mostly in Venice and the Veneto.-Biography:...
(Aliense). He painted a Visitation for the Ognissanti and an Adoration of the Magi for San Giovanni Elemosinario
San Giovanni Elemosinario
San Giovanni Elemosinario is a church of Venice, northern Italy, dedicated to Saint John the Almsgiver.This church was founded in 1071, and was completely destroyed by the disastrous Rialto fire in 1514. The church was rebuilt by Antonio Abbondi called Scarpagnino. The painter Antonio Vassilacchi...
in Venice. However he was certainly best known, in his own day and ever since, as an author on art. Carlo Ridolfi was also an important collector of drawings, such as Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
. Many of these drawings are conserved in the Christ Church Library (Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
).
Author
He wrote a biography of the Venetian painters in 1648 titled Le maraviglie dell’ Arte ovvero, Le vite degli Illustri Pittori Veneti and dello Stato. He also wrote La vita di Giacopo Robusti (The Biography of TintorettoTintoretto
Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso...
) in 1642. He was awarded the knighthood of the Golden Cross by Pope Innocent X and a chain of gold and a medal of St. Mark by the Republic of Venice, essentially for his books rather than his painting. Subsequent Venetian chroniclers who have quoted Ridolfi include Marco Boschini
Marco Boschini
Marco Boschini was an Italian painter and engraver of the early-Baroque period in Venice.He was born in Venice, and was educated in the school of Palma il Giovane. He painted The Last Supper for the sacristy of San Girolamo at Venice. He also distinguished himself as an engraver and as a writer on...
, Antonio Maria Zanetti
Antonio Maria Zanetti
Count Anton[io] Maria Zanetti was a Venetian artist and art critic, an engraver and connoisseur, and a collector of engraved gems both Greco-Roman and modern, which he published lavishly, in the form of A.F...
, Luigi Lanzi
Luigi Lanzi
Luigi Lanzi was an Italian art historian and archaeologist.Born in Treia, Lanzi was educated as a priest. He entered the Order of the Jesuits, resided at Rome and in 1773 was appointed keeper of the galleries of Florence, where he became president of the Accademia della Crusca...
.
As Vasari's Vite was famously weaker on Venetian painters than Florentine ones, Ridolfi remains an important source for Venetian painting between the beginning of the Renaissance and his own day, although his accuracy is often doubted, and many of his numerous attributions, especially to Giorgione
Giorgione
Giorgione was a Venetian painter of the High Renaissance in Venice, whose career was cut off by his death at a little over thirty. Giorgione is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, though only about six surviving paintings are acknowledged for certain to be his work...
, are no longer accepted:"...the enormous number of paintings attributed to Giorgione by Ridolfi gravely weakens his authority".
One purpose of his work was to supply a corrective to Vasari, and just as Vasari ascribes all progress in art to Florentines, Ridolfi attempts something similar for the Venetian tradition, with its closer connection to Byzantine art. He was well educated in the classics, and his style is much given to rhetorical flourishes, classical comparisons and references to poetry, whilst rather lacking Vasari's talent for telling anecdote. He approached the larger lives in a scholarly fashion, and quoted many documents, often now vanished, that remain invaluable to art historians. His work gives great insight into the way art was seen in his own day, as well as during the lives of his subjects.