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Il Cappuccino - art lovers do not associate this term first with a frothed milk drink. This is at least true for friends of the Italian Baroque. For behind this nickname lies Bernardo Strozzi, who is today considered one of the most important representatives of the colorism of his time.
Strozzi was born in Genoa in 1581. Not much is known about his origin and his early youth. However, it is very likely that he was taught at a very young age by Pietro Sorri, who taught him to draw. At the age of 17 Strozzi entered a Capuchin order in his home town of Genoa. He owes this circumstance to his later nickname. Young Bernardo also devoted himself to art in the monastery and created numerous devotional pictures. His great talent was not recognized for a long time and only discovered by the art dealer Gian Battista Riviera, who also motivated him to turn his back on monastic life. But since he had already taken his vows, this was virtually impossible. It took a great deal of cunning and guile before he finally managed to escape. In the meantime, he had even spent some time in prison, as he had not returned to his monastery as agreed after the death of his mother and the wedding of his sister.
During this time Strozzi must have matured the decision to leave his hometown for good and flee to Venice, Genoa's great rival and intimate enemy. Arriving in Venice, he was finally able to develop his talent to the full. Already his first important commission, the creation of a portrait of the composer Claudio Monteverdi, who himself was also an ordained priest, helped him to make his breakthrough. From around 1630 Strozzi painted portraits of many important dignitaries in Venice. He developed a unique style, which was influenced by his compatriot Michelangelo Caravaggio and whose characteristics he combined with the characteristics of the dominant Dutch and Flemish painters. Strozzi was particularly influenced by Rubens and Anthony van Dyck.
Among "Il Cappuccino's" most famous works are, in addition to the aforementioned portrait of Monteverdi, the portrait of the composer Barbara Strozzi, with whom he shares the family name only by chance, and the painting "The Sermon of John the Baptist", which can be admired today in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Il Cappuccino - art lovers do not associate this term first with a frothed milk drink. This is at least true for friends of the Italian Baroque. For behind this nickname lies Bernardo Strozzi, who is today considered one of the most important representatives of the colorism of his time.
Strozzi was born in Genoa in 1581. Not much is known about his origin and his early youth. However, it is very likely that he was taught at a very young age by Pietro Sorri, who taught him to draw. At the age of 17 Strozzi entered a Capuchin order in his home town of Genoa. He owes this circumstance to his later nickname. Young Bernardo also devoted himself to art in the monastery and created numerous devotional pictures. His great talent was not recognized for a long time and only discovered by the art dealer Gian Battista Riviera, who also motivated him to turn his back on monastic life. But since he had already taken his vows, this was virtually impossible. It took a great deal of cunning and guile before he finally managed to escape. In the meantime, he had even spent some time in prison, as he had not returned to his monastery as agreed after the death of his mother and the wedding of his sister.
During this time Strozzi must have matured the decision to leave his hometown for good and flee to Venice, Genoa's great rival and intimate enemy. Arriving in Venice, he was finally able to develop his talent to the full. Already his first important commission, the creation of a portrait of the composer Claudio Monteverdi, who himself was also an ordained priest, helped him to make his breakthrough. From around 1630 Strozzi painted portraits of many important dignitaries in Venice. He developed a unique style, which was influenced by his compatriot Michelangelo Caravaggio and whose characteristics he combined with the characteristics of the dominant Dutch and Flemish painters. Strozzi was particularly influenced by Rubens and Anthony van Dyck.
Among "Il Cappuccino's" most famous works are, in addition to the aforementioned portrait of Monteverdi, the portrait of the composer Barbara Strozzi, with whom he shares the family name only by chance, and the painting "The Sermon of John the Baptist", which can be admired today in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.