Viviano Codazzi
Encyclopedia
Viviano Codazzi was an Italian painter of quadratura (fictive architectural decoration), architectural paintings, capricci and ruin pieces, and some vedute
during the Baroque
period. He was active in Naples
and Rome. He is also known in older sources as Viviano Codagora or il Codagora
, by 1633 he had reached Naples, where he worked on commissions at the Certosa di San Martino resulting from his connections with his fellow Bergamasque Cosimo Fanzago
. A major commission in Naples was a series of four large canvases representing ancient Roman scenes (including one depicting gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum) for the Buen Retiro in Madrid, with figures by Domenico Gargiulo
. Codazzi was essentially a painter of architecture, and the figures are always by others. In Naples his principal collaborator for the figures was Gargiulo. After relocating to Rome following the revolt of Masaniello
in 1647, he collaborated with painters from the circle of Dutch
painters active in Rome, known as Bamboccianti
, especially Michelangelo Cerquozzi
and Jan Miel
. He also collaborated with Filippo Lauri
, Adrien van der Cabel and Vicente Giner during the 1660s. He had several close followers, including Ascanio Luciano and Andrea di Michele in Naples, his son Niccolò Codazzi (1642–1693), Vicente Giner (who settled in Spain), and Domenico Roberti.
His depiction of St. Peters Basilica in 1636 in the Museo del Prado, Madrid is an unusual work for him in being a veduta, or topographical view. It was painted in Naples and shows the old entrance to the Vatican palace, destroyed when Bernini's Scala Regia and colonnade were constructed, as well as clock towers (campanili) based on an engraving of a never-executed design by Martino Ferabosco. One of his best known paintings is a depiction of the Revolt of Masaniello in the Piazza del Mercato in Naples, with figures by Cerquozzi, painted for Cardinal Bernardino Spada in 1648 and now in the Galleria Spada in Rome. Most of his paintings are medium-sized paintings of architecture, either ruins, ideal architecture, or capricci, in a landscape setting.
Veduta
A veduta is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting of a cityscape or some other vista....
during 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. He was active in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and Rome. He is also known in older sources as Viviano Codagora or il Codagora
Biography
Born in Valsassina near BergamoBergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, by 1633 he had reached Naples, where he worked on commissions at the Certosa di San Martino resulting from his connections with his fellow Bergamasque Cosimo Fanzago
Cosimo Fanzago
Cosimo Fanzago was an Italian architect and sculptor, generally considered the greatest such artist of the Baroque period in Naples, Italy.-Biography:...
. A major commission in Naples was a series of four large canvases representing ancient Roman scenes (including one depicting gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum) for the Buen Retiro in Madrid, with figures by Domenico Gargiulo
Domenico Gargiulo
Domenico Gargiulo was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Naples and known for his landscapes....
. Codazzi was essentially a painter of architecture, and the figures are always by others. In Naples his principal collaborator for the figures was Gargiulo. After relocating to Rome following the revolt of Masaniello
Masaniello
Masaniello was a Neapolitan fisherman, who became leader of the revolt against Spanish Habsburg rule in Naples in 1647.-Name and place of birth:...
in 1647, he collaborated with painters from the circle of Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
painters active in Rome, known as Bamboccianti
Bamboccianti
The Bamboccianti were genre painters active in Rome from about 1625 until the end of the seventeenth century. Most were Dutch and Flemish artists who brought existing traditions of depicting peasant subjects from sixteenth-century Netherlandish art with them to Italy, and generally created small...
, especially Michelangelo Cerquozzi
Michelangelo Cerquozzi
Michelangelo Cerquozzi was an Italian Baroque painter.Born and active mainly in Rome, he is best known for small canvases of genre scenes, and for being one of the Italian proponents of the Bamboccianti style practised by a Dutch painter in Rome, Pieter van Laer...
and Jan Miel
Jan Miel
Jan Miel was a Flemish painter, active in Italy, emerging from the circle of genre painters influenced by Pieter van Laer and the so-called Bamboccianti painters. He was born in Beveren-Waas near Antwerp, but had traveled to Rome by 1636. Surprisingly, he briefly collaborating with Andrea Sacchi,...
. He also collaborated with Filippo Lauri
Filippo Lauri
Filippo Lauri was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.Born and active in Rome, his story was featured in the biographies by Baldinucci...
, Adrien van der Cabel and Vicente Giner during the 1660s. He had several close followers, including Ascanio Luciano and Andrea di Michele in Naples, his son Niccolò Codazzi (1642–1693), Vicente Giner (who settled in Spain), and Domenico Roberti.
His depiction of St. Peters Basilica in 1636 in the Museo del Prado, Madrid is an unusual work for him in being a veduta, or topographical view. It was painted in Naples and shows the old entrance to the Vatican palace, destroyed when Bernini's Scala Regia and colonnade were constructed, as well as clock towers (campanili) based on an engraving of a never-executed design by Martino Ferabosco. One of his best known paintings is a depiction of the Revolt of Masaniello in the Piazza del Mercato in Naples, with figures by Cerquozzi, painted for Cardinal Bernardino Spada in 1648 and now in the Galleria Spada in Rome. Most of his paintings are medium-sized paintings of architecture, either ruins, ideal architecture, or capricci, in a landscape setting.