Giovanni Santi | |
|---|---|
 Christ supported by two angels,c. 1490 (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest | |
| Born | (c. 1435 Colbordolo,Duchy of Urbino, Italy |
| Died | August 1, 1494 (aged 58–59) Italy |
| Children | Raphael |
Giovanni Santi (c. 1435 – 1 August 1494) was an Italian painter and poet, father ofRaphael Sanzio. He was born in 1435 atColbordolo in theDuchy of Urbino. He studied underPiero della Francesca and was influenced byFiorenzo di Lorenzo. He wascourt painter tothe Duke of Urbino and painted severalaltarpieces among other things. He died in Urbino.
Santi was born in 1435 atColbordolo in theDuchy of Urbino to Sante di Peruzzolo and Elisabetta di Matteo. He was a petty merchant for a time; he then studied underPiero della Francesca. He was influenced byFiorenzo di Lorenzo, and seems to have been an assistant and friend ofMelozzo da Forlì. He wascourt painter to Duke of UrbinoFederico da Montefeltro and painted severalaltarpieces, two now in theBerlin Museum, aMadonna in the church of San Francesco in Urbino, one at the church of Santa Croce inFano, one in the National Gallery atLondon, and another in the gallery at Urbino; anAnnunciation at theBrera inMilan; a resurrected Christ in theMuseum of Fine Arts, Budapest; and aJerome in theLateran.
The reputation of the court had been established by Federico da Montefeltro. The emphasis of Federico's court was more literary than artistic, but Santi was a poet of sorts as well as a painter, and had written a rhymed chronicle of the life of Federico, and both wrote the texts and produced the decor formasque-like court entertainments. His poem to Federico shows him as keen to show awareness of the most advanced North Italian painters, andEarly Netherlandish artists as well. In the very small court of Urbino he was probably more integrated into the central circle of the ruling family than most court painters.[1]
Federico, who died in 1482, was succeeded by his sonGuidobaldo da Montefeltro, who marriedElisabetta Gonzaga. Under them, the court continued as a centre for literary culture. In 1483, Santi's sonRaphael was born.[2] Santi died in Urbino in 1494.
His poetry includes an epic in honor of one of his patrons, Federico da Montefeltro, followed by a discourse on painting. The event commemorates a visit to Mantua, where the Duke marveled at the skill ofAndrea Mantegna, he then goes on to comment that "In this splendid and gentle art/ so many have been famous in our century/ that it make others seem destitute".
Santi then goes on to list famous names in painting, as known to him, this constitutes a remarkably concise list of 27 prominent painters of late 15th-century Italy and the Flanders, as one painter would have known. Santi's list reproduced in no order:
