Giovanni Battista Mercati

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Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, San Lorenzo, Sansepolcro Giovan Battista Mercati, Martirio di San Lorenzo, 1620-40 circa 02.JPG
Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, San Lorenzo, Sansepolcro

Giovanni Battista Mercati (1591–1645) was an Italian painter and engraver, active in a Baroque style.

Baroque cultural movement, starting around 1600

The Baroque is a highly ornate and often extravagant style of architecture, music, painting, sculpture and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th until the mid-18th century. It followed the Renaissance style and preceded the Rococo and Neoclassical styles. It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant architecture, art and music, though Lutheran Baroque art developed in parts of Europe as well. The Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep colour, grandeur and surprise to achieve a sense of awe. The style began at the start of the 17th century in Rome, then spread rapidly to France, northern Italy, Spain and Portugal, then to Austria and southern Germany. By the 1730s, it had evolved into an even more flamboyant style, called rocaille or Rococo, which appeared in France and central Europe until the mid to late 18th century.

Biography

He was born in Borgo San Sepolcro, in Tuscany, but was also active in Rome. He is best known from his engravings, many made after other artists including Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carraci, and other masters. He painted several altarpieces and frescoes in Sansepolcro, including two frescos on the Life of the Virgin for the church of Santa Chiara, and an altar-piece in San Lorenzo. He also has paintings in Livorno and Gubbio. [1] Among his engravings are:

Tuscany Region of Italy

Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants (2013). The regional capital is Florence (Firenze).

Rome Capital city and comune in Italy

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Arch of Constantine Triumphal arch in Rome

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One interesting set of engravings are his depictions of some of the extant Ancient Roman ruins in Rome, collected in an edition of about fifty-two plates, titled Alcune vedute et prospettive di luoghi dishabitati di Roma (1629) with introduction by Salvatore Settis, engraved in the manner of Israel Silvestre. The series is not a scientific depiction, but does capture some views at a time when kilns and sites were still actively dismantling the remains of ancient edifices. The prints may have influenced Vasi and later Piranesi. Some of the views, however border on being fanciful capricci. Among his engravings are: [3]

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SantAgnese in Agone church in Rome

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Temple of Minerva Medica (nymphaeum) building in municipio I, Italy

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Santa Bibiana church in Rome

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References

  1. ↑ A Biographical History of the Fine Arts, or Memoirs of the Lives and Works, by Shearjashub Spooner, page 552.
  2. ↑ Dedicated by Mercati to Marcello Sacchetti,Metropolitan Museum of Art collections.
  3. ↑ Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Mercati prints from Alcune Vedute..
  4. ↑ Now considered remains of a Fountain by Septimius Severus.
  5. ↑ Church at the base of the Tarpeian Rock.
  6. ↑ Ruins no longer extant.
  7. ↑ Santa Francesca Romana, Rome with remains of Temple of Venus and Roma
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