Antonio Gherardi

Antonio was born in Rieti to Stefano and Giulia Poggi Tatoti, but when he moved to Rome (c. 1656) he changed his name. His father, a middle-class craftsman, died when Antonio was only eight years old. In 1656, Monsignor Bulgarino Bulgarini, Governor of Rieti, became his patron. Two years later Bulgarini sponsored his travel to Rome, and introduced him to his future mentors, [[Pier Francesco Mola]] and [[Pietro da Cortona]]. In the large workshops organized by the latter, he developed skills in both painting and stucco decoration. The influence of Cortona on Gherardi was so significant that many of his first paintings were attributed to the old master.<ref name=bollini>[https://www.italianartsociety.org/2018/09/baroque-artist-antonio-gherardi-was-born-on-september-20-1638-in-rieti/ Bollini, Martina. "This Day in History: September 20", Italian Art Society]</ref>

Antonio was born in Rieti to Stefano and Giulia Poggi Tatoti, but when he moved to Rome (c. 1656) he changed his name. His father, a middle-class craftsman, died when Antonio was only eight years old. In 1656, Monsignor Bulgarino Bulgarini, Governor of Rieti, became his patron. Two years later Bulgarini sponsored his travel to Rome, and introduced him to his future mentors, [[Pier Francesco Mola]] and [[Pietro da Cortona]]. In the large workshops organized by the latter, he developed skills in both painting and stucco decoration. The influence of Cortona on Gherardi was so significant that many of his first paintings were attributed to the old master.<ref name=bollini>[https://www.italianartsociety.org/2018/09/baroque-artist-antonio-gherardi-was-born-on-september-20-1638-in-rieti/ Bollini, Martina. "This Day in History: September 20", Italian Art Society]</ref>

Between 1667 and 1669 Gherardi travelled extensively in northern Italy. Upon his return to Rome, he painted the vulted ceiling in [[Santa Maria in Trivio]].<ref>Itinerario instruttivo di Roma, Volume 1, by Mariano Vasi, Rome, (1791), p. 309.</ref> In 1674, he joined the [[Accademia di San Luca]].<ref name=bollini/> That same year he began work on scenes from the life of [[Francis Solanus|St.Francesco Solano]] for the Astalli Chapel at [[Santa Maria in Ara Coeli]].<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG28809 "Antonio Gherardi", The British Museum]</ref>

Between 1667 and 1669 Gherardi travelled extensively in northern Italy. Upon his return to Rome, he painted the vaulted ceiling in [[Santa Maria in Trivio]].<ref>Itinerario instruttivo di Roma, Volume 1, by Mariano Vasi, Rome, (1791), p. 309.</ref> In 1674, he joined the [[Accademia di San Luca]].<ref name=bollini/> That same year he began work on scenes from the life of [[Francis Solanus|St.Francesco Solano]] for the Astalli Chapel at [[Santa Maria in Ara Coeli]].<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG28809 "Antonio Gherardi", The British Museum]</ref>

Gherardi drew freely on forms and ideas of [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini|Bernini]], [[Francesco Borromini|Borromini]], and Cortona. The best examples of his work can be seen in the Santa Cecilia Chapel, [[San Carlo ai Catinari]], and the Avila Chapel, [[Santa Maria in Trastevere]] (c.1679), two of the most architecturally inventive chapels of the late-17th century in Rome.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Anna|last1=Bülau|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/79427047.pdf|chapter=Directed Light in Antonio Gherardi’s Avila Chapel|page=141|title=Manipulating Light in Premodern Times. Architectural, Artistic, and Philosophical Aspects|oclc=908153128|language=en, it, de|publisher=Medrisio Academic Press|series=ISA-stituto di storia e teoria dell’arte e dell’architettura|year=2014}}</ref>

Gherardi drew freely on forms and ideas of [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini|Bernini]], [[Francesco Borromini|Borromini]], and Cortona. The best examples of his work can be seen in the Santa Cecilia Chapel, [[San Carlo ai Catinari]], and the Avila Chapel, [[Santa Maria in Trastevere]] (c.1679), two of the most architecturally inventive chapels of the late-17th century in Rome.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Anna|last1=Bülau|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/79427047.pdf|chapter=Directed Light in Antonio Gherardi’s Avila Chapel|page=141|title=Manipulating Light in Premodern Times. Architectural, Artistic, and Philosophical Aspects|oclc=908153128|language=en, it, de|publisher=Medrisio Academic Press|series=ISA-stituto di storia e teoria dell’arte e dell’architettura|year=2014}}</ref>