Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo
Encyclopedia
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...
painter active mainly in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
.
He was born in Voltri, now part of the comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
' of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, the son of a merchant. He trained under Orazio Cambiaso and possibly collaborated with Bernardo Strozzi
Bernardo Strozzi
Bernardo Strozzi was a prominent and prolific Italian Baroque painter born and active mainly in Genoa, and also active in Venice.-Biography:Strozzi was born in Genoa. He was probably not related to the other Strozzi family....
. Two of his pupils were Giuseppe Badaracco
Giuseppe Badaracco
Giuseppe Badaracco , also called “Il Sordo” , was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Genoa, in Liguria and in Corse....
and Bartolomeo Bassi
Bartolomeo Bassi
Bartolomeo Bassi was an Italian painter active in the early-Baroque period, mainly in his hometown of Genoa. He was a disciple of Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo, and painted quadratura. Died at age 40 years.-References:...
.
Ansaldo's works are typical of the Genoese eclecticism of the early 17th century, influenced by Flemish artists such as Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
and Anton Van Dyck and the Milanese Giovanni Battista Crespi
Giovanni Battista Crespi
Giovanni Battista Crespi , called Il Cerano, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect,-Biography:...
, Giulio Cesare Procaccini
Giulio Cesare Procaccini
Giulio Cesare Procaccini was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early Baroque era in Milan.-Biography:Born in Bologna he was son of the Mannerist painter Ercole Procaccini the Elder and brother of Camillo Procaccini and Carlo Antonio Procaccini...
and il Morazzone
Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli
Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli was an Italian painter of the early Baroque era in Milan....
.
Ansaldo is responsible for the fresco decoration of the cupola of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato
Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato is a Catholic cathedral in Genoa, northern Italy; its decoration employed the major baroque studios and artists in Genoa in the 17th century....
of Genova, completed during 1635–1638, just before his death. His Annunciation fresco is considered the first true Baroque painting in the city. Through a complex trompe-l'oeil view, it reproduces the interior of a Greek Cross planned church, with Mary ascending to heaven being awaited by the Holy Father in the centre of the dome.There is a painting by Ansaldo in the Manchester City Art Gallery in Manchester,England("Allegory of the Arts").
Altarpieces from Ansaldo were commissioned for the Cathedral of Segovia. A Deposition is presently housed in the Accademia Linguistica of Genoa.
He died in Genoa and was probably buried in the same Annunziata church.
External links
Camillo Manzitti, "Andrea Ansaldo", in "Paragone" n. 267, Maggio 1972.
Franco Boggero (a cura di), Un pittore genovese del Seicento, Andrea Ansaldo, 1584-1638, restauro e confronti, catalogo della mostra Genova, Commenda di San Giovanni di Pré - 25 gennaio/3 marzo 1985, Genova, 1985.