CARRACCI, ANNIBALE

Carracci, Annibale: translation

(1560-1609)

Annibale Carracci, his brotherAgostino, and cousinLudovicowere responsible for effecting theCarracci Reform. Of the three, Annibale was the one to achieve the greatest recognition for having brought art back to theclassicismof the Renaissance masters, particularlyRaphael. Early on in his career, Annibale paintedgenrescenes that depicted common figures in all their dignity, among them theBoy Drinking(c. 1582-1583; Cleveland Museum of Art), theBean Eater(1583-1584;Rome, Galleria Colonna), and theButcher Shop(c. 1582; Oxford, Christ Church Picture Gallery), this last thought to visually expound the Carracci's art philosophy. In c. 1583, Annibale received his first public commission, theCrucifixionfor the Church of Santa Maria della Carità,Bologna, a clear, sober rendition that conforms to the demands of theCounter-Reformationand ArchbishopGabriele Paleottiregarding the proper representation of sacred subjects. HisSan Ludovico Altarpiece(c. 1589; Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale) he painted for the Church of Santi Ludovico e Alessio and demonstrates the influence ofCorreggioin the softness of the contours and the swaying pose ofSt.John the Baptist. In these years, Annibale also executed some mythologies, including theVenus,Satyr,and TwoCupids(c. 1588;Florence, Uffizi) andVenus Adorned by the Graces(1594-1595; Washington, National Gallery). These works show his interest inVenetianart as they both feature voluptuous female nudes rendered in lush colors and bathed by light in the manner ofTitian.

In 1595, Cardinal OdoardoFarnesesummoned Annibale to Rome to decorate his recently builtpalazzo. In c. 1596, Annibale painted theHercules at the Crossroads(Naples, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte) to be mounted on the ceiling of the cardinal's study. Then, between c. 1597 and 1600 hefrescoedthe gallery with scenes depicting the loves of the gods utilizing aquadro riportatotechnique. Centered on theFarnese ceilingis theTriumph ofBacchus, a scene that would later influenceGuido Reni'sAurora(1613) in the Casino Rospigliosi, Rome, and Guercino's ceiling fresco of the same title (1621) in the CasinoLudovisi. In these years, Annibale carried out other commissions for the Farnese, including theChrist in Glory(c. 1597; Florence, Palazzo Pitti) and thePietà(1599-1600; Naples, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte). Annibale's Roman works reflect his study of Raphael's paintings in theStanza della Segnatura(1510-1511) and Michelangelo'sSistine ceiling(1508-1512), both at the Vatican. Their clarity, emphasis on soft pastel tones, and rational compositions clearly derive from the works of these Renaissance masters. The semicircular arrangement of theChrist in Glorystems directly from Raphael'sDisputein the Stanza.

Annibale was also an accomplished landscapist. In fact, he is one of the artists to bring landscape painting to the realm of high art. In 1603, the artist was occupied with painting landscapelunettesfor CardinalPietro Aldobrandiniin his palace chapel. Of these, the most notable is theRest on theFlight into Egypt, a classicized landscape composed of alternating areas of land and water balanced by the verticality of the trees. By this time, Annibale had become seriously ill and affected with bouts of depression. He died in 1609 and was buried in the Pantheon in Rome alongside Raphael, a fitting tribute for the man who had been hailed as the one to restore painting from the excesses ofMannerismand to have brought it back to its former Renaissance glory.