Name the Painter

Test your knowledge of these 16th- and 17th-century Dutch and Italian painters.

Which painter:

1. Had a raven who could imitate his voice?

Il Sodoma

Originally known as Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (1477-1549), this Italian artist spans the High Renaissance and Mannerist styles. His personal documents show him to have been rather eccentric. Indeed, the name “Il Sodoma,” or “The Sodomite,” may have started out as a nickname, but he heartily adopted it and used the name to sign his letters and it is the name by which we know him today. He owned racehorses and supposedly kept a small zoo of pets that included badgers, squirrels, marmosets, donkeys, monkeys, jays, turtledoves, bantam hens, and even a raven that he taught to speak in perfect imitation of his voice whenever anyone knocked at the door. Sodoma was much influenced by Leonardo da Vinco and later by Raphael, who helped determine his mature style. Sodoma had a gift for capturing the sensuous beauty of the human form; he was quite capable of showing fondness and physical tenderness between people. Groups of women hold hands, gaze at, or touch each other in such scenes as Deposition showing the Madonna fainting (1505-1508) or Hall of the Marriage of Alexander. He was a prolific painter of frescoes and oil paintings and in his time was considered the leading artist in Siena. His most famous painting is the “Marriage of Alexander and Roxane” fresco (c. 1511) currently in the Villa Farnesina in Rome.

2. Served as inspector of the Belvedere in the pontificate of Adrian VI?

Jan van Scorel

Jan van Scorel (1495-1562) was one of the first Dutch painters to visit Italy and he enjoyed the influence of Michelangelo and Raphael. Van Scorel played an important role in introducing Renaissance art to the Netherlands. As part of van Scorel’s extensive travels, he visited Venice where he met Giorgione and was extremely influenced by his work. In 1521, van Scorel returned to Rome where he was introduced to Pope Adrian VI, who appointed him painter to the Vatican and keeper or curator of the antiquities in the Belvedere Museum.

3. Committed suicide in 1592 by throwing himself out of a window?

Francesco Bassano

He was an Italian Renaissance painter (1549-1592) who studied under his father, an accomplished artist who lived in a small town but remained alert to new developments in the art scene. Bassano moved to Venice and ran the Venetian branch of his family’s workshop, but committed suicide by throwing himself out of a window a few months after his father's death.

4. Died of malaria at Porto Ercole in Tuscany?

Caravaggio

Caravaggio (1571-1610) was an Italian painter of the Baroque school active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily. His painting style hit the art scene with the raw power of his incredible depictions of realism and his intense treatment of light. Caravaggio is credited with pioneering the chiaroscuro technique, painting directly from life while downplaying the importance of drawing. Basically he turned his back on the accepted practices, required protocol, and theological correctness of the ateliers of the day and painted in a natural style. We don’t know much of the details of his life because of a lack of written records, but once he was established, he painted alone and took on no apprentices and it can be safe to assume that he was disliked by other artists of his time. Caravaggio died at age 39, probably of malaria, while fleeing authorities in Porto Ercole where his body was found on the beach.

5. Drowned in 1650 trying to retrieve his hat from the Tiber?

Pietro Testa

This Italian Baroque painter (1611-1650) had aspirations to become a history painter but instead gained recognition for his printmaking and draftsmanship. As a result of his failing career, Testa turned to tragic themes and ultimately drowned in the Tiber River, perhaps committing suicide.

6. Was raped by Agostino Tassi?

Artemisia Gentileschi

Gentileschi (1593-1653) is a talented 17th-century Italian Early Baroque post-Renaissance painter and one of the world's greatest female artists. She studied under a friend of her father, Agostino Tassi. In 1612, her father brought suit against Tassi for raping Artemisia. There followed a well publicized seven-month-long trial. Tassi also was guilty of raping and impregnating his sister-in-law; testimony at the trial showed that he also had arranged the murder of his own wife, whom he had raped before marrying. The trial makes up the central theme of the French film, Artemisia (1998), directed by Agnes Merlet, controversial because of its perhaps less-than-truthful handling of the material. Gentileschi is also featured in Susan Vreeland's second novel, The Passion of Artemisia (2002), which focuses on the story of the creation of the dramatic masterpiece, "Judith."

Source:

Bailey, Colin J. The Art Quiz Book: 2000+ Questions on Painters and Paintings. Station Press: Scotland, 1995.

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