Artists
Giuseppi Maria Crespi
- Country:
- Italy
- Birth year:
- 1665
- Death year:
- 1747
Guiseppe Maria Crespi (1665 Bologna-1747 Bologna) was principally active in his home town. A student of Demenico Maria Cantui and Carlo Cignani, he was also inspired by the artwork of Correggio and the Carracci. After he rejected this academic manner of painting, he was able to develop his own personal style. Bold light effects and the freedom in his active, forceful figures characterize his work. Crespi painted mythological and genre scenes in addition to religious themes. His individualistic and intense observation of nature in the former painting types foreshadow the work of minor painters of the following century. He had great influence on many younger artists, including Giovanni Battista Piazzetta and Pietro Longhi, who adopted his chairoscuro effects and integrated them into their own modes of expression. Among the artist's work are Twilight of the Gods, 1691, Museo di Palazzo Popoli Campogrande, Bologna; The Kitchen Maid, c. 1713, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence; and The Seven Sacraments, c. 1713, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.