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Sebastiano Bombelli (October 1635; 4 May 1719) was an Italian painter, mainly active inVenice, during theBaroque period.
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He was born inUdine on 14 or 15 October 1635 (baptized on the 15th), educated and trained under the guidance of his father Valentino and the godfather Girolamo Lugaro, he moved from a young age toVenice where, after a period of specialization withGuercino inBologna, he began his career studying the manner ofPaolo Veronese, quickly becoming one of his greatest connoisseurs.
The synthesis of the techniques ofCinquecento, of the impulse given bynaturalists and of the contemporary taste of the "tenebrosi" was addressed by Bombelli in the sector in which he specialized most, namelyportraiture. Not to underestimate his stay inFlorentine, during which he was able to appreciate the technique ofSustermans.[1]
His first surviving work dates back to 1665, it is the Portrait of Benedetto Mangilli(Civici Musei, Galleria d'Arte Antica, Udine), a painting that shows influences fromBernardo Strozzi.
Among the peculiar characteristics of his works emerge vitality, expressiveness and communicability, both in the portraits anchored to the traditionBaroque like the Polo Querini of 1684 (Querini Stampalia Foundation, Venice) and in the most simplified ones. His characters emerge from the shadows although described to the smallest detail, showy with their showy and festive attires.[1]
Del 1675 is the first Self-portrait (Civici Musei, Galleria d'Arte Antica, Udine), characterized by a marked introspective vein and free from the embellishments typical of the official portrait which had made it famous to Venice.
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One of his many followers wasFra' Galgario (Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi) who spent a decade in Venice and had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with Bombelli. For a time he also studied in his workshop a young manAnton Domenico Gabbiani, who learned much from Bombelli (see his first portraits, like those of the Musicians of the court of the Grand Prince Ferdinando de 'Medici at theGalleria dell'Accademia); the two artists remained on excellent terms throughout their lives, as demonstrated by a beautiful letter from Bombelli addressed to the former student in 1716.[2] He was also the master ofDomenico and Giovanni Battista Parodi, sons of the Genoese sculptorFilippo Parodi, a personal friend of the friulian painter;[3] Bombelli's fame as a skilled portrait painter was known internationally, so much so that one of his pupils wasJohann Gottfried Tannauer, famous painter and miniaturist at the court ofTsarPeter the Great of Russia.[4] He was also very fond of friendship and affection with the fellowLuca Carlevarijs and with the young and promisingRosalba Carriera, of whom he painted an intense portrait on the occasion of his appointment toAcademia di San Luca.[5] His portraiture style later also influenced other painters, includingAlessandro Longhi andNiccolò Cassana.
Bombelli had a half brother, Raffaele, also a painter, less well known than Sebastiano and active in the Friuli area.[6]
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The artist also traveled and worked abroad, for example inBavaria, where he portrayed the ElectorFerdinand Maria of Bavaria, his wifeEnrichetta Adelaide di Savoia, the childrenMaria Anna Vittoria of Bavaria,Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria,Joseph Clement of Bavaria and his brotherMaximilian Philip Jerome of Bavaria, to Innsbruch portraying the ArchduchessAnna de 'Medici and the daughtersClaudia Felicita of Austria (future emperor's Leopold I second wife) and Mary Magdalene, for thedukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, as well asVienna where he portrayed the emperorLeopold I of Habsburg and the coupleJoseph I of Habsburg andWilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was also active inFlorence,Mantua andParma and lent his service to some cardinals.[6]. His atelier in Venice was very famous and frequented by important personalities passing through Venice, in particular duringCarnival: on this occasion he portrayed the prince in 1692Frederick of Denmark (future king Frederick IV).
Sebastiano Bombelli was also an art expert: being the greatest connoisseur of Paolo Veronese, he was often contacted to verify the authenticity of works that surfaced on the market.[7] Concurrently with this activity, Bombelli was also a restorer. Unfortunately, to give new brilliance to ancient artworks, he used paints and lacquers that - with the passing of time - oxidized blackening the paint film. Various sources, contemporary and non-contemporary, refer to this information, in particularLanzi.[8] His mastery of the use of colors, however, was much appreciated, to the extent that he was the dedicatee of the textNuovo plico d'ogni sorte di tinture by Gallipido Tallier - published in 1704 - and the painter was addressed with these words «... knowing the world the virtue, which she generally possesses of coloring and painting; And I am going to say, that the opre of his penoron have a not that of celestial, which dazzles the sight to whom they aim ...».[9]
He was a member of thefraglia pictorial of Venice from 1687 to 1700.[6]
Infirm in the last years of his life, he died in Venice on 4 May 1719. His executors were the beloved and powerful nephews Paolo[10] and Girolamo Celotti, bothServite friars.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)bombelli lanzi.
nuovo plico d'ogni sorta di tinture.
