VOLTERRANO (Baldassare Franceschini)
Volterra ion-Florence 1690
Baldassare Franceschini, called II Volterrano, was the son
of a sculptor. At the age of sixteen he moved from Vol-
terra to Florence, where he became an assistant to the
painters Matteo Rosselli and Giovanni da San Giovanni.
His most important early commission, begun in 1636,
was for a fresco cycle for the Medici villa at Petraia, near
Florence. Thereafter he continued to enjoy the patronage
of the Medici as well as other distinguished Florentine
families, becoming one of the most successful painters
of the Baroque era in Florence. The frescoes in the Sala
délie Allégorie, Palazzo Pitti, completed circa 1652 for
Vittoria della Rovere, are among his many palace deco-
rations. Volterrano painted genre scenes, such as the
Burla del Vino (16405), and portraits, including Cardinal
Giovan Carlo de' Medici of circa 1653 (both Palazzo Pitti),
in addition to many religious paintings. He worked at
SS. Annunziata, Florence, on several occasions, painting
two altarpieces as well as decorating the nave and cupola.
His mature paintings indicate a thorough knowledge of
the works of Pietro da Cortona. Volterrano remained in
Florence during his long career except for brief visits to
Modena, Venice, Parma, and Rome.
SIMON VOUET
Paris 1590-1649
The son of a painter, Vouet traveled to England and Con-
stantinople at a young age. By 1612 he was in Italy, first
in Venice for a year and then in Rome, where he remained
until 1627 except for short trips to Genoa and Milan.
Vouet's reputation was secured with his election in 1625
to the presidency of the Accademia di San Luca and the
receipt of a commission for Saint Peter's (destroyed).
Paintings from his Italian years include altarpieces for San
Francesco a Ripa, Rome, and for the Certosa di San Mar-
tino, Naples. Some of his paintings, such as Saint Jerome
and the Angel of circa 1622 (National Gallery), indicate
the influence of Caravaggio on Vouet. In 1627 he left
Rome for Paris, where his position as the most successful
painter of his generation in France was briefly threatened
by Poussins return in 1640. Unfortunately, many of
Vouet's French decorations have been destroyed. In 1648
he took part in the founding of the Académie in Paris. He
trained many artists, most notably Eustache Le Sueur
and Charles Le Brun.
JEAN-ANTOINE WATTEAU
Valenciennes i684~Nogent-sur-Marne 1721
The son of a master tiler, Watteau trained with Jacques
Albert Grin in Valenciennes in 1699. He went to Paris be-
fore 1702 and shortly thereafter met Claude Gillot. Wat-
teau worked with Gillot from 1703 to 1707 and was in-
fluenced by his passion for the commedia dell'arte and
theater, as can be seen in Mezzetin of 1718-19 (Metro-
politan Museum of Art). From 1708 to 1709 Watteau
worked with the decorator Claude Audran III, who also
served as curator of the Rubens paintings in the Palais du
Luxembourg. Watteau's close study of this Flemish mas-
ter profoundly affected his own art. His patron, Pierre
Crozat, encouraged Watteau to study the drawings and
Venetian paintings in his collection. In this way the artist
began to combine Flemish and Venetian elements, de-
veloping a unique style characterized by rich, decorative
coloring, graceful figures, and a tender, poetic mood. In
1717 he was elected to the Académie in a special category
created for him, painter oïjetesgalantes. His major works
include Embarkation for Cythera of 1717 (Louvre), which
he presented to the Académie as his reception piece, and
Gersaint's Shop Sign of 1720 (Berlin, Schloss Char-
lottenburg).TADDEO ZUCCARO
San Angelo in Vado 1529-Rome 1566
Taddeo Zuccaro moved to Rome at the age of fourteen
and studied with several minor painters, although he
seems to have learned most of what he knew from study-
ing the art of Rome on his own. By 1548 he was known
for his painted facade decorations in the style of Polidoro
da Caravaggio. Circa 1553 Taddeo collaborated with
Prospero Fontana in painting frescoes for the Villa di
Papa Giulio. He was commissioned in 1556 to paint fres-
coes for the Cappella Frangipane in San Marcello al
Corso; these eventually were completed by his brother
Federico. Most of them date to after 1560, as does Tad-
deo's altarpiece Conversion of Saint Paul (circa 1563) for the
same chapel. In 1559 he began working at the Villa
Farnese, Caprarola, which occupied him intermittently
until his death. The elaborate program in the Sala dei
Fasti Farnesi is the most important of his works there.
Many of Taddeo's late works are rather pious in nature,
including Dead Christ Supported by Angels of 1564-65
(Urbino, GalleriaNazionale), originally intended for the
Villa Farnese.350 ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES