Giovanni Ghisolfi

Biography

Born in Milan in 1623, he initially trained with his uncle, the painter Antonio Volpino. At the age of 17, he traveled to Rome with his friend Antonio Busca, where he studied the work of Pietro da Cortona and frequented the studio of Salvator Rosa. In Rome he painted vedute and capricci, mainly landscapes with architectural fragments and ruins. They would garner renewed interest with the rise of Neoclassicism in the mid-late 18th century.

In 1661, he decorated a chapel of the Certosa di Pavia. In 1664 he was called to Vicenza to execute a series of decorative landscape frescoes in the Palazzo Trissino Baston and the Palazzo Giustiniani Baggio. He painted also in Palazzo Borromeo Arese at Cesano, Reatis' Palace in Lissone and in the fourth chapel of the Sacri Monti and frescoed the vaults of the Basilica of San Vittore in Varese.

Ghisolfi died in Milan on 7 June 1683 and was buried in the church of San Giovanni in Conca. Among his pupils was his nephew, Bernardo Racchetti from Milan (1639–1702). Ghisolfi’s reputation today rests on his capricci, small landscapes with ruins and romantic figures, which anticipate the style of Giovanni Paolo Panini. His canvases are preserved in many European galleries, among them the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh (e.g. Landscape with Ruins, Ruins and Figures), the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Narbonne (e.g. The Triumph of Silenus) and the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden (e.g. Harbour Scene).

Gallery

(Narbonne) Le Triomphe de Silène - Giovanni Ghisolfi - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Narbonne.jpg|The Triumph of Silenus, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Narbonne ARCHITECTURAL CAPRICCIO WITH CONVERSING FIGURES, A ROUND DANCE BEYOND..PNG|Architectural Capriccio With Conversing Figures, priv. col. Two Classical Temples in Ruins with Statue, Bas-Relief and Figures by Giovanni Ghisolfi.jpg|Two Classical Temples in Ruins with Statue, priv. col. A Ruined Classical Temple of the Tuscan Order with Figures by Giovanni Ghisolfi.jpg|A Ruined Classical Temple of the Tuscan Order with Figures, priv. col. Giovanni Ghisolfi (c.1623-1683) - Ruins and Figures - EU0713 - The Torrie Collection.jpg|Ruins and Figures, The Torrie Collection, Edinburgh Giovanni Ghisolfi (c.1623-1683) - Capriccio - SOUAG.B121 - Beecroft Art Gallery.jpg|Capriccio, Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England

References

Bibliography

• {{cite web |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050214152319/http://www.artnet.com/library/03/0320/T032002.asp |archive-date = 14 February 2005

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110105065323/http://www.liechtensteinmuseum.at/en/pages/artbase_main.asp?module=browse&action=m_work&lang=en&sid=31032196&oid=W-147200412195342011 ''Roman ruins with three columns''], vedute of the [[Temple of Vespasian and Titus]] from [[Liechtenstein Museum]] in [[Vienna]].
2. link. (2011-01-05 from Liechtenstein Museum.)