Giovanni Battista Cipriani | |
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 from a larger painting byJohn Francis Rigaud.[1] | |
| Born | 1727 Florence,Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
| Died | 14 December 1785 (aged 57–58) Hammersmith, England |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Known for | painting |
Giovanni Battista CiprianiRA (1727 – 14 December 1785)[2] was an Italian painter andengraver, who lived in England from 1755. He is also calledGiuseppe Cipriani by some authors.[3] Much of his work consisted of designs for prints, many of which were engraved by his friendFrancesco Bartolozzi.
Cipriani was born inFlorence. His family were originally fromPistoia. He first studied withIgnatius Hugford, a Florentine artist of English descent, and then underAnton Domenico Gabbiani. He spent the years 1750–53 inRome, where he became acquainted with the architect, SirWilliam Chambers, and the sculptor,Joseph Wilton whom he accompanied to England in August 1755.[4]
He had already painted two pictures, aSt Tesauro andSt 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 ofSanta Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in Florence and the main altarpiece of the church of theOratory of Gesù Pellegrino outside of theSan Gallo Gate.[5]
On his arrival to England he was patronized byLord Tilney,Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond and other noblemen. When William Chambers designed theAlbany in London forPeniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne, Cipriani painted a ceiling. He also painted part of a ceiling inBuckingham House, and a room with poetical subjects atStandlynch inWiltshire.[4]
AtSomerset House, also built by his friend Chambers, he prepared the decorations for the interior of the north block, including the rooms into which theRoyal Academy moved in 1750,[4] which now houses theCourtauld Gallery[6] The central panel of the Royal Academy's ante-room was painted by SirJoshua 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 theRoyal andAntiquarian societies.[6]
According toJoseph Baretti in hisGuide through the Royal Academy (1780), "the whole of the carvings in the various fronts of Somerset Place — excepting Bacon's bronze figures — were carved from finished drawings made by Cipriani." These designs include the five masks forming the keystones to the arches on the courtyard side of the vestibule, and the two above the doors leading into the wings of the north block, all believed to have been carved byJoseph Nollekens. The grotesque groups flanking the main doorways on three sides of the quadrangle and the central doorway on the terrace also appear to have been designed by Cipriani.[4]
Cipriani was a founder member (1768) of the Royal Academy, and designed its diploma, which was engraved byFrancesco 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, includingThe Death of Cleopatra, afterBenvenuto Cellini;The Descent of the Holy Ghost, after Gabbiani; and portraits forThomas Hollis's memoirs, 1780. He painted allegorical designs for theGold State Coach and theLord Mayor of London's State Coach, built in 1762 and 1757 respectively in 1782, and repairedAntonio Verrio's paintings at Windsor andPeter Paul Rubens's ceiling in theBanqueting House atWhitehall.[4]
He also decorated furniture. He designed many groups, ofnymphs andamorini and medallion subjects to form the centre ofPergolesi's bands of ornament, and they were continually reproduced upon the elegantsatin-wood furniture which was growing popular in his later days and by the end of the 18th century became a rage. These designs were sometimes inlaid inmarquetry, but more usually painted onto the wood by other hands. Some of the furniture designed by theAdam Brothers was probably painted by Cipriani himself. He also occasionally designed handles for drawers and doors.[7]
Cipriani died inHammersmith 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 wereJohn Alexander Gresse (1741–1794);Charles Grignion the Younger (1754–1804); andMauritius Lowe (1746–1793).[10]
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cipriani, Giovanni Battista".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 379–380.| International | |
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