Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona, born Pietro Berrettini on November 1, 1596, in Cortona, Tuscany, was a prominent Baroque artist and architect of the seventeenth century. Known for his dynamic frescoes and innovative architectural designs, he gained significant recognition through commissions from the influential Barberini family in Rome. His early works, such as the frescoes at Santa Bibiana, established him as a leading artist, while his masterpiece, "Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power," showcased his ability to create illusions of depth and space on ceilings. Cortona also excelled in oil painting, producing works infused with rich color and emotional complexity, often depicting Christian themes.
In addition to his painting career, he contributed to architecture, most notably through his work on the church of Santi Luca e Martina, and he undertook extensive decorative projects for the Medici family in Florence. Cortona's influence extended beyond his lifetime, as his techniques and stylistic choices shaped the trajectory of Baroque art. Despite his numerous accomplishments, he remained unmarried and left his fortune to support a Roman Catholic martyr. His legacy endures in institutions like the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, where his works continue to inspire appreciation for Baroque artistry. Cortona passed away on May 16, 1669, in Rome, but his impact on art and architecture remains significant.
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Subject Terms
Pietro da Cortona
Artist and architect
- Born: November 1, 1596
- Place of Birth: Cortona, Tuscany, Italy
- Died: May 16, 1669
- Place of Death: Rome, Italy
- Significance: Pietro da Cortona was one of the most renowned Baroque artists of the seventeenth century. Cortona is perhaps most famous for frescoes he painted for the Barberini family, whose members included cardinals and popes, in Rome. In addition to his artistic talent, Cortona proved himself to be a gifted architect.
Background
Pietro da Cortona was born on November 1, 1596, in Cortona, Tuscany, Italy. His birth name was Pietro Berrettini. He became known as Pietro da Cortona—da Cortona means "from Cortona"—after he moved to Rome, Italy.
Little is known about Cortona's early life. Historians believe that he may have taught himself how to paint. Growing up in Cortona, he likely studied under Andrea Commodi, an artist from Florence. He traveled with Commodi to Rome in 1612 or 1613. Art in Rome was flourishing during that period, and artists were crafting works using an array of different styles.
In the early 1620s, Cortona earned the patronage of Marcello Sacchetti, a well-connected Roman nobleman. Through Sacchetti, Cortona became acquainted with Cardinal Francesco Barberini and his uncle, Pope Urban VIII. Cortona soon began receiving commissions to create artworks for the Barberini family.
Life's Work
Cortona achieved his first real fame when Pope Urban VIII commissioned him to produce fresco paintings on the walls of Santa Bibiana, a Roman Catholic church in Rome, between 1624 and 1626. Cortona had no trouble finding work after that. In 1627, he began decorating the Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano. One of Cortona's most renowned works from this period is his oil-on-canvas painting The Rape of the Sabine Women. The painting melds classical elements common in works from the early Renaissance period with the Baroque elements for which Cortona became known, such as rich color and dramatic gestures.
The 1630s was a productive decade for Cortona. Between 1633 and 1639, Cortona worked on what many experts consider his masterpiece—a fresco titled Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power (also known as The Triumph of Divine Providence) on the ceiling of Palazzo Barberini (Barberini Palace). The fresco appears in the main salon and features a trompe l'oeil, a painting technique that creates the illusion of three-dimensional space. Cortona's work makes it appear as if the ceiling opens to the heavens, where several celestial figures are hovering.
A year after beginning his work at Palazzo Barberini, Cortona's contemporaries elected him to a four-year term as head of the Accademia di San Luca (Academy of Saint Luke), an association of Roman artists. In 1635, Cortona demonstrated his gift for architecture when he began work on Santi Luca e Martina, a church in Rome. Some consider the church one of his finest architectural works.
From the late 1630s through 1647, Cortona made several trips to Florence to complete work commissioned by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando II de'Medici. Cortona was commissioned to paint wall frescoes of the Four Ages of Man on the interior of Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace). The frescoes included Age of Iron, Age of Bronze, Age of Silver, and Age of Gold. Later, the scope of the work expanded to include decorating five rooms, each dedicated to a deity associated with a particular celestial body and of special significance to the Medici family. By 1647, Cortona had managed to complete three of the rooms: Sala di Venere, Sala di Marte, and Sala di Giove. Although he had started work on Sala di Apollo, he was not able to finish it before he had to return to Rome. Using Cortona's designs, his student and assistant Ciro Ferri is believed to have finished Sala di Apollo and Sala di Saturno by the early 1660s.
Between 1647 and 1665, Cortona worked on frescoes for the ceiling of Chiesa Nuova, a late sixteenth-century Roman Catholic church in Rome. He also modified the church's dome, adding a lantern to improve the lighting. In 2023, as the final stage of a massive restoration project, Cortona's frescoes and the surfaces supporting them were restored by technicians working in a lab built forty feet in the air to allow them direct access to the ceiling and art work.
In 1651, Cortona received a commission from Pope Innocent X to decorate the vault of Palazzo Pamphilj's gallery, which had been designed by architect Francesco Borromini. Cortona chose Aeneas, a hero of Roman mythology, as the subject of his ceiling fresco. In painting The Story of Aeneas between 1651 and 1654, Cortona altered his technique to better match Borromini's style. He opted for lighter colors over his usual rich tones and created a sense of connection among individual scenes by setting them all against the backdrop of an unbroken band of sky.
Although Cortona is often remembered for his frescoes, he produced a whole body of oil paintings, including portraits and altarpieces. Many of his oil paintings feature Christian figures and themes. Toward the end of his career, Cortona focused on architectural projects. Between 1656 and 1657, for example, he undertook the task of updating the façade of a church in Rome called Santa Maria della Pace (Our Lady of Peace).
Cortona passed away on May 16, 1669, in Rome.
Impact
Pietro da Cortona produced some of the best Baroque artwork of the seventeenth century. His paintings, which incorporated a strong use of color, were often elaborate in scope and meticulously detailed. He demonstrated a special talent for painting human figures, often blending classical poses with the drama, complexity, and emotion that were characteristic of artworks during the Baroque period. In modern times, Palazzo Barberini—where Cortona painted his Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power on the ceiling—is part of Italy's Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica (National Gallery of Antique Art). Thus, Cortona's masterpiece is a permanent fixture of the gallery.
Personal Life
Cortona never married. When he died in 1669, he bequeathed his fortune to St. Martina, a Roman Catholic martyr who was beheaded in 228. The account was managed by the Banca di Roma into modern times, and a monthly income was paid to the nuns of the Basilica of Sant'Eufemia, as directed by Cortona to safeguard the money.
Bibliography
Morris, Roderick Conway. "Pietro da Cortona's Legacy to the City of Rome: The Saint and the Architect." New York Times, 27 Dec. 1997, www.nytimes.com/1997/12/27/style/pietro-da-cortonas-legacy-to-the-city-of-rome-the-saint-and-the.html. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
"Pietro da Cortona." Art UK, artuk.org/discover/artists/da-cortona-pietro-15961669. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
"Pietro da Cortona." J. Paul Getty Museum, www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/2962/pietro-da-cortona-italian-1596-1669/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
"Pietro da Cortona (1596–1669)." Visual-arts-cork.com, 2024, www.visual-arts-cork.com/old-masters/pietro-da-cortona.htm. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
"Pietro da Cortona (Pietro Berrettini): A Wind God." Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/338542. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
"Rome: The Chiesa Nuova Restored, the Frescoes by Pietro da Cortona Shine Again." Nova, 20 Dec. 2023, www.agenzianova.com/en/news/Rome%2C-once-the-new-church-has-been-restored%2C-the-frescoes-by-Pietro-da-Cortona-shine-again/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
"Santa Maria in Vallicella-Chiesa Nuova." Churches of Rome, www.churches-of-rome.info/CoR‗Info/CN%20321/ChiesaNuova.pdf. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
Welford, John. "Pietro da Cortona: A 17th-Century Baroque Artist and Architect." Owlcation, 2 May 2017, owlcation.com/humanities/Pietro-da-Cortona-A-17th-Century-Baroque-Artist-and-Architect. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.