He painted frescoes (starting 1574) on mythologic themes including a Judgement of Paris, Stories from the Aenid, and others, in collaboration with Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi in the Palazzo della Corgna in Castiglione del Lago.
From 1579 he returned to Rome to work with Matthijs Bril and decorated the Sala della Meridiana in the Torre dei Venti (finished before the end of 1580) as well as in the Loggie (1580–83) in the Vatican. He then became one of the artists favored by the Jesuits. Assisted by Matteo da Siena, he began depicting scenes of Jesuit martyrdom. He was further commissioned such works, depicting church martyrs, with help from Antonio Tempesta for the church of Santo Stefano Rotondo. Here he finally completed over thirty graphic scenes of martyrdom, depicting every gruesome method as if it were an advertisement for a torture chamber.[1]
Visitors like Charles Dickens expressed horror at the spectacle in this church, calling it a:[2]
"damp, mildewed vault of an old church in the outskirts of Rome, ... by reason of the hideous paintings with which its walls are covered. These represent the martyrdoms of saints and early Christians; and such a panorama of horror and butchery no man could imagine in his sleep, though he were to eat a whole pig raw, for supper. Grey-bearded men being boiled, fried, grilled, crimped, singed, eaten by wild beasts, worried by dogs, buried alive, torn asunder by horses, chopped up small with hatchets: women having their breasts torn with iron pinchers, their tongues cut out, their ears screwed off, their jaws broken, their bodies stretched upon the rack, or skinned upon the stake, or crackled up and melted in the fire: these are among the mildest subjects."
Circignani's last documented painting, in Cascia, is from 1596.
Sourcesedit
Freedberg, Sydney J. (1993). Pelican History of Art (ed.). Painting in Italy, 1500-1600. Penguin Books. pp. 649–650.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niccolò Circignani.
Notesedit
^Santo Stefano Rotondo, archeoroma.com. Accessed 9 August 2023.
^S. Stefano Rotondo, in Thayer's Guide to Roman Churches, UChicago.edu. Accessed 9 August 2023.
May 11, 2024
niccolò, circignani, 1517, 1524, after, 1596, italian, painter, late, renaissance, mannerist, period, virgin, rosary, contents, biography, sources, external, links, notesbiography, editthis, section, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, im. Niccolo Circignani c 1517 1524 after 1596 was an Italian painter of the late Renaissance or Mannerist period Virgin of the rosary Contents 1 Biography 2 Sources 3 External links 4 NotesBiography editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Niccolo Circignani news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Born in Pomarance he is one of three Italian painters called Pomarancio His first works are documented from the 1560s where he painted frescos on the Old Testament stories for the Vatican Belvedere where he may have worked alongside Santi di Tito and Giovanni de Vecchi He also completed altarpieces for Orvieto 1570 Umbertide 1572 Citta di Castello 1573 1577 as well as Citta della Pieve He worked at Orvieto Cathedral with Hendrick van den Broeck a brother of the sculptor Willem van den Broecke and a relative of the painter Chrispijn van den Broeck He painted frescoes 1568 in the church of the Maesta delle Volte in Perugia the Resurrection 1569 in Panicale and an Annunciation 1577 now in the Pinacoteca Comunale Citta di Castello He painted frescoes starting 1574 on mythologic themes including a Judgement of Paris Stories from the Aenid and others in collaboration with Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi in the Palazzo della Corgna in Castiglione del Lago From 1579 he returned to Rome to work with Matthijs Bril and decorated the Sala della Meridiana in the Torre dei Venti finished before the end of 1580 as well as in the Loggie 1580 83 in the Vatican He then became one of the artists favored by the Jesuits Assisted by Matteo da Siena he began depicting scenes of Jesuit martyrdom He was further commissioned such works depicting church martyrs with help from Antonio Tempesta for the church of Santo Stefano Rotondo Here he finally completed over thirty graphic scenes of martyrdom depicting every gruesome method as if it were an advertisement for a torture chamber 1 Visitors like Charles Dickens expressed horror at the spectacle in this church calling it a 2 damp mildewed vault of an old church in the outskirts of Rome by reason of the hideous paintings with which its walls are covered These represent the martyrdoms of saints and early Christians and such a panorama of horror and butchery no man could imagine in his sleep though he were to eat a whole pig raw for supper Grey bearded men being boiled fried grilled crimped singed eaten by wild beasts worried by dogs buried alive torn asunder by horses chopped up small with hatchets women having their breasts torn with iron pinchers their tongues cut out their ears screwed off their jaws broken their bodies stretched upon the rack or skinned upon the stake or crackled up and melted in the fire these are among the mildest subjects Circignani s last documented painting in Cascia is from 1596 Sources editFreedberg Sydney J 1993 Pelican History of Art ed Painting in Italy 1500 1600 Penguin Books pp 649 650 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niccolo Circignani Notes edit Santo Stefano Rotondo archeoroma com Accessed 9 August 2023 S Stefano Rotondo in Thayer s Guide to Roman Churches UChicago edu Accessed 9 August 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Niccolo Circignani amp oldid 1169553172, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
