Santi di Tito
Italian, 1536 - 1603
Painter, draughtsman, architect. Religious subjects, allegorical subjects, portraits, architectural views, perspectives. Murals, church decoration.
Santi di Tito was a pupil of Agnolo Bronzino and then of Baccio Bandinelli. He studied in Rome and probably began his career in 1555, five years after his arrival in Florence. He was a prolific draughtsman who, with his pupils and disciples such as Andrea Boscoli, Agostino Ciampelli, Lodovico Cardi and Antonio Tempesta, laid the foundations of the Florentine Baroque. He also had an important influence in Rome at the beginning of the 17th Century. It is likely that Rubens visited his studio in 1603 and was influenced by his work. The inventory discovered in Tito's house after his death provides us with detailed information on his work (we know that he left 700 drawings, for example) and his life as an artist. This inventory was reproduced in full in an article by Julian Brooks ( The Burlington Magazine, May 2002). 250 drawings by Santi di Tito are in the Uffizi, 30 are in the Louvre and 13 are in the Villa Farnesina in Rome.
According to Vasari, at the age of 19 Tito was already an accomplished artist in terms of both his draughtsmanship and his use of colour. His compositions are characterised by their great simplicity and a strong presence of light. He drew from models in a style similar to that of the Carracci academy in Bologna. He produced religious paintings as well as portraits, notably of Maria de' Medici, and also excelled in perspectives and architectural paintings. He painted a number of important works for churches in Florence, completed a painting by Sogliani for S Domenico in Fiesole, and worked on Michelangelo's catafalque. Highly regarded in his time, he left many unfinished paintings, many of which were completed by his son Tiberio Titi; these include the Last Supper in the Cappella del SS Sacramento in S Marco, Florence.
Tito's work has been shown in numerous collective exhibitions, including: Florentine Drawings in the Louvre from the Collection of Filippo Baldinucci (Disegni Fiorentini del Museo del Louvre dalla Collezione di Filippo Baldinucci) at the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, Rome, 1959, Drawings of Santi di Tito (Disegni di Santi di Tito) at the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, Museo degli Uffizi, Florence, 1985, and The Golden Age of Florentine Drawing at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, in 1993.
"TITO, Santi di." In Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/benezit/B00183284 (accessed April 16, 2012).
Person TypeIndividual
Italian, 1652 - 1725
