MARCO RICCI
Belluno 1676-Venice 1729
Marco Ricci was the nephew of the painter Sebastiano
Ricci, from whom he probably received his earliest ar-
tistic training in Venice. He was reportedly forced to
leave Venice after murdering a gondolier. He then trained
with the painter Antonio Francesco Peruzzini in Ancona.
Marco worked in Rome, Florence, and Venice, chiefly as
a landscape painter but also as an etcher. He went twice
to England, the first time prior to 1710 and then with Se-
bastiano Ricci from 1712 to 1716. Marco settled in Venice
in 1716 except for a trip to Rome circa 1720. He special-
ized in landscape paintings that often have a luminous
quality, as can be seen in Landscape with the Archangel Ra-
phael and Tobias of circa 1708 (Sarasota, John and Mabel
Ringling Museum of Art). Marco often used gouache
for his landscapes, sometimes on kidskin, as in Landscape
with Approaching Storm of the 17205 (Wellesley, Jewett
Arts Center). He collaborated with his uncle on several
paintings, including Epitaph for Admiral Shovel of circa
1726 (National Gallery of Art). Marco also made nu-
merous drawings and etchings and influenced the next
generation of landscape painters, including Canaletto
and Francesco Guardi.
HYACINTHE RIGAUD
Perpignan 165 9-Paris 1743
The grandson and nephew of painters, Hyacinthe Ri-
gaud s first formal artistic training occurred during the
period 1671-77, when he studied in Montpellier with
two provincial masters. He then served an apprentice-
ship in Lyons before moving to Paris in 1681. In 1682 he
won the Prix de Rome but, at Charles Le Brun's advice,
did not travel to Rome, as he immediately began receiv-
ing commissions in Paris. Rigaud became a member of
the Académie in 1700. He is best known for his portraits
of the Parisian bourgeoisie, clergy, and aristocracy. His
first royal commission dates from 1688. He painted Louis
XIV on several occasions—including in 1701, when he
executed the famous Portrait of Louis XIV in His Coro-
nation Robes (Louvre)—and also painted several portraits
of Louis XV. Many of his portraits, such as that of Jean
Le Juge, his wife, and their daughter, of 1699 (National
Gallery of Canada), indicate the influence of Dutch and
Flemish painting. Rigaud received many honors during
his career and managed a large studio, training the paint-
ers Joseph Parrocel, Jean-Marc Nattier, and François
Desportes, among others.PETER PAUL RUBENS
Siegen 15 77-Antwerp 1640
The son of an Antwerp magistrate, Rubens spent the first
ten years of his life in Siegen and Cologne. After his fa-
ther's death in 1587, he returned to Antwerp, where he
studied with Tobias Verhaeght, Adam van Noort, and
Otto van Veen, becoming a master in the Antwerp guild
of Saint Luke in 1598. Rubens left for Italy in 1600 and
entered an eight-year period of service with Vincenzo
Gonzaga in Mantua which was interrupted by a diplo-
matic mission to Spain. In 1608 the artist returned to Ant-
werp, where he was made court painter to Archduke Al-
bert and Archduchess Isabella in 1609. He went on to
execute numerous commissions in that city during the
next decade, including the Raising of the Cross of 1610
(Onze Lieve Vrouw). Between 1622 and 1627 Rubens
visited Paris several times in connection with a cycle of
paintings glorifying the reigns of Marie de Médicis and
her husband, King Henry IV (Louvre). In 1628 he went
to Madrid to promote a peace plan between the Neth-
erlands and Spain and was appointed privy council sec-
retary of the Netherlands by King Philip IV. In 1629-30
the painter was sent on a diplomatic mission to England,
where he was knighted by King Charles I and received a
commission to execute the ceiling paintings in the ban-
queting hall at Whitehall in London. In 1630 he returned
to Antwerp and married Helena Fourment. He designed
decorations for the triumphal entry into Antwerp of
Cardinal Infant Ferdinand in 1634-35. In 1635 Rubens
purchased the chateau of Steen, the countryside around
which inspired some of his finest landscapes. He exe-
cuted designs for a series of paintings to decorate the
Torre de la Parada, Philip IV s hunting lodge near Ma-
drid, in 1636-38.PIETERJANSZ. SAENREDAM
Assendelft 1597-1665 Haarlem
The son of the engraver Jan Saenredam, Pieter moved
with his mother from Assendelft to Haarlem in 1609 after
the death of his father. In 1612 he was apprenticed to
Frans Pieter de Grebber and in 1623 enrolled in the guild
of Saint Luke at Haarlem, where he was to spend his en-
tire career. From 1628 on he specialized in architectural
painting and, in particular, church interiors. Transept of
the SintBavokerk, Haarlem, North to South of 1628 (J. Paul
Getty Museum) evidences his particular fascination with
Haarlem's principal church, which figures in his works
more frequently than any other building. From the
beginning he employed a characteristically deliberate
method of preparing paintings, which were preceded by344 ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES