Genoa Drawings and Prints, 1530-1800

Genoa, Italy emerged as a major artistic center toward the middle of the 16th century, sparked by the seal lord Andrea Doria's political leadership and ready patronage, and the artist Perino del Vaga's arrival from Rome in 1527. The technically masterful, even boldly experimental, graphic art in "Genoa: Drawings And Prints, 1530-1800" illustrates Genoa's growth by the early 17th century into an important regional artistic school. Some of the drawings were made as independent works of art (as for instance ones by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione) characterized by rich painterliness and dramatic content. Many sheets are preparatory drawings, which eloquently describe the Genoese tradition of illusionistic fresco painting that unfolded almost in its entirety within the splendid interiors of the new churches and palazzi. In addition to better-known artists (Luca Cambiaso, Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Bernardo Strozzi) "Genoa: Drawings And Prints, 1530-1800" includes less-studied Genoese artists such as Carlo Alberto Baratta, Giulio Benso, Bartolomeo Biscaino, Bernardo and Valerio Castello, Giovanni David, and Gregorio and Lorenzo de Ferrari -- all of whom significantly influenced other artists both in Genoa and elsewhere in Italy.Bambach, Carmen C. is the author of 'Genoa Drawings and Prints, 1530-1800' with ISBN 9780870997723 and ISBN 0870997726.