Belisario Corenzio

Italian, c. 1558 - 1643

BiographyItalian painter and draughtsman. He was a prolific artist, who painted altarpieces and many fresco cycles in Neapolitan churches; he was also a talented draughtsman and one of the first Neapolitan painters to leave a large number of drawings. He was probably of Greek origin, and, although de Dominici claimed that he studied in Venice, he is documented in Naples from 1590 to 1646, and the dominant influences on his art are Roman painters working in Naples. In the early years he was particularly indebted to Marco Pino, who was in Naples from 1557 and who introduced the Roman style of Daniele da Volterra and Perino del Vaga to the city.

Corenzio’s major works of the 1590s include large paintings of biblical scenes (Palermo, Gal. Reg. Sicilia) and a fresco cycle of scenes from the Life of the Virgin (Naples, S Maria la Nova), both of which were influenced by Flemish artists working in Naples in the late 16th century, such as Cornelis de Smet and Dirck Hendricksz. The scene of the Visitation from the cycle in S Maria la Nova, in its soft palette and confident drawing, also suggests the inspiration of 16th-century Roman art. The woman on the extreme right is taken from Raphael’s fresco of the Fire in the Borgo, in the Vatican Stanze. Raphael’s influence is apparent also in Corenzio’s most impressive drawing of this period, the Massacre of the Innocents (Florence, Uffizi), which in its subject reflects Marcantonio Raimondi’s print after Raphael’s design. This fluid pen drawing with heavy white heightening proclaims the freedom of design that was developing as the artist matured. In 1590–91 he painted frescoes of scenes from the lives of SS Agatha, Cecilia and Lucy in S Andrea delle Dame, Naples, and in 1592 he is documented at the Certosa di S Martino, where he frescoed the chapel of S Nicola. These frescoes show the influence of the cold colours and Mannerist sophistication of the Cavaliere d’Arpino, who had worked at the Certosa di S Martino in 1589. Arpino’s influence remained strong in Corenzio’s later works, such as his most celebrated fresco series in the chapel of the Monte di Pietà, Naples, where, in such scenes as the Incredulity of Thomas, oversized figures crowd the dark, boxlike interior. The Deposition, in the same church, is a monumental composition with immense figures. Arpino’s influence is also apparent in Corenzio’s drawings of this period, which include both quick compositional sketches for his many fresco cycles, such as the Meeting of SS Francis and Clare (c. 1600; New York, Cooper-Hewitt), and more finished drawings, such as the Last Meeting of SS Peter and Paul (c. 1599; Florence, Uffizi), which is squared for transfer.

Corenzio’s later works include frescoes (1609) in the oratory of the Crucifix in S Paolo Maggiore, Naples, in the chapel of SS Ugo and Anselmo at S Martino (1637) and in S Maria della Sapienza, Naples (1640–41). He came under the influence of the Baroque art of Caravaggio and Guido Reni, both of whom worked in Naples. One of his most interesting drawings is a study (c. 1612; Naples, Capodimonte) from Caravaggio’s Calling of St Matthew (Rome, S Luigi dei Francesi;), which Corenzio studied either firsthand in Rome or from some other record, possibly something from Caravaggio himself, who was in Naples in 1609. The composition was kept, but Corenzio made the subject his own with his innovative, free style, based on rapid strokes and heavy crosshatching. Giovanni Battista Caracciolo was for a short time his pupil.

"Corenzio, Belisario." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T019467 (accessed April 10, 2012)

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