CARRACCI, LUDOVICO

(1555-1619)

The cousin ofAnnibaleandAgostino Carracci, with whom he effected theCarracci Reform. Ludovico was the son of aBolognesebutcher and was trained by theManneristpainter Prospero Fontana. After his apprenticeship, he traveled toVenice, Parma, andFlorenceto study the works ofTitian, Correggio, andRaphael, all of whom proved to be a major force in the development of the Carracci's philosophy of art—a philosophy that rejected the excesses of Mannerism and favored theclassicismof the High Renaissance masters. When Annibale and Agostino left Bologna forRometo work for theFarnese, it was Ludovico who continued running the Carracci Academy, where he trained the next generation of masters who later would help disseminate the Carracci's artistic ideals. His most notable works include theBargellini Madonna(1588; Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale), theCento Madonna(1591; Cento, Museo Civico), theMartyrdom of St.Peter Thomas(c. 1608; Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale), andSt.Sebastian Thrown into the Cloaca Maxima(c. 1613; Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum).