Domenico Passignano
Italian, 1550/55 - 1638
Italian painter. Around the age of nine he was sent to Florence, where, according to Baldinucci, he studied first with Girolamo Macchietti and then with Giovan Battista Naldini. His most important teacher, however, was Federico Zuccaro with whom he worked, from 1575 to 1579, on completing the decoration of the interior of the cupola at the cathedral, which had been left unfinished at the death of Giorgio Vasari in 1574. In 1580 Passignano accompanied Zuccaro to Rome, staying there two years. No works are known from this period, but a few are extant from the following years spent in Venice (1582–8), where exposure to the works of Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Palma Giovane seems to have enhanced his use of colour and added a rich atmospheric quality to his Florentine style.
In 1588 he returned to Florence and in the following year received a major commission to fresco the vestibule of the Salviati family chapel of S Antonio in S Marco. Many commissions for altarpieces followed in the 1590s, including the Sermon of St John the Baptist (S Michele Visdomini), the Miracle of St Vincent Ferrer (S Marco), the Martyrdom of SS Nereus and Achilleus (S Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi) and the Resurrection (SS Annunziata). In these works the clarity of composition and simplicity of form demanded by the Counter-Reformation are felicitously coupled with a warmth of colour and a softness of handling that were evidently learnt in Venice.
From 1602 Passignano pursued a successful career in Rome, beginning with a commission from Pope Clement VIII to paint the Crucifixion of St Peter (Rome, St Peter’s). One of his first important projects following this work was a competition for the commission of a painting of an Ecce homo held by Massimo Massimi in which Lodovico Cigoli and Caravaggio were the other participants, Cigoli being the winner. In 1604 Passignano received a commission from Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII, to decorate his family chapel in S Andrea della Valle, Rome, with scenes from the Life of the Virgin. Soon afterwards, the newly elected Pope Paul V commissioned him to decorate the New Sacristy in S Maria Maggiore on the same theme (1608–10), and c. 1611–12 he participated in the decoration of the Pauline Chapel at the other end of the same church. As well as executing many major church commissions in these years, Passignano also decorated the villas of a number of influential cardinals in Rome and Frascati, for example painting the Battle of Rinaldo and Armida for Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the Casino dell’Aurora of the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi, Rome. Many of the works from this period exhibit a new monumentality and illusionistic boldness that reflect his experience of contemporary Roman painting and particularly the works of Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio.
In 1616 Passignano returned to Florence where, among other projects, he painted Michelangelo Presenting the Model of St Peter’s to Pope Pius IV (1618–19; Florence, Casa Buonarroti). In his mature years he secured two commissions for St Peter’s from his old patron, Maffeo Barberini, now Pope Urban VIII, the Incredulity of Thomas (c. 1624–7) and the Presentation of the Virgin (1627). Passignano enjoyed a long and successful career in both Florence and Rome, serving the most important patrons in both cities. His narrative style was clear and simple with a renewed concern for naturalism and was infused with the spiritual fervour that satisfied the taste and the demands of this Counter-Reformatory period. His work had a strong effect on his contemporaries as well as on the next generation of Florentine artists, including Ottavio Vannini.
Joan L. Nissman. "Passignano, Domenico." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T065704 (accessed April 11, 2012).
Person TypeIndividual
Italian, c. 1510 - 1561
