The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 4 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth CenturyLanzi, Luigi
History
The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 4 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
Lanzi, Luigi
Painting -- Italy -- History
Two other artists flourished after him in Cremona, of whom their biographer
observes that they must have drunk at the same fountain, from the great
resemblance of their paintings, at least during a certain period, though
they differed greatly in point of colouring. One is Angelo Massarotti, a
native of Cremona, the other Roberto La Longe, born at Brussels, ranked
among those artists who have been denominated Fiamminghi, or Flemish, in
Italy, an appellation which has given rise to frequent mistakes in history.
Angelo was undoubtedly pupil to Bonisoli, and though he studied many years
with Cesi at Rome, where he painted at S. Salvatore in Lauro, he exhibits
very little of the Roman, except a more regular kind of composition than
belongs to the Cremonese style. For the rest he was fonder of introducing
portraits than ideal forms into his canvass, nor was he sufficiently
careful to shun the faults of the naturalists; owing to which, more
particularly in his draperies, he sometimes became heavy. He boasts
moreover a more rich and oily colouring than was then prevalent at Rome,
which gives his pictures an appearance of fulness and roundness, while it
adds to their preservation. Perhaps his masterpiece is to be seen at S.
Agostino, a vast production, in which the saint is represented giving rules
to various religious orders, which form a body militant under his banners,
and in such a crowd of figures, the ideas, the attitudes, and the draperies
are all well varied.
Most probably Roberto la Longe frequented the academy of Bonisoli, and
occasionally, as we have observed, conformed to the manner of Massarotti.
But both there and at Piacenza, where he long resided and closed his days,
he painted in a variety of styles, yet always soft, clear, and harmonious;
much as if he had never ventured beyond the confines of Flanders. At times
he emulates Guido, as in some histories of S. Teresa, painted for S.
Sigismondo at Cremona; and in some histories of S. Antonio Martire, at
Piacenza, he approaches Guercino, while at others he displays a mixture of
strength, delicacy, and beauty, as in his picture of S. Saverio, in the
cathedral at Piacenza, seen in the act of dying, and supported by angels.
His landscapes give singular attraction to his figures, though the latter
might be better designed, and more gradation may be desired in his
landscape, as well as in other parts of his works.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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