 |
| attributed to Giacinto Brandi Personification of Poetry before 1691 oil on canvas Musée d'art et d'histoire de Narbonne |
 |
| attributed to Giacinto Brandi The Prodigal Son before 1691 oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid |
 |
| Giacinto Brandi Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane with Angels ca. 1650 oil on canvas Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome |
 |
| Giacinto Brandi Christ entombed by Joseph of Arimathea before 1691 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
"Giacinto Brandi was born in Florence and soon afterwards his family moved to the small town of Poli near Rome. In 1630 he left for Rome to study under the sculptor Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654). Here Brandi designed and executed modelli for, in particular, heads of angels. It was in all likelihood through his apprenticeship in Algardi's workshop that he developed his command of figure drawing. Algardi encouraged Brandi to take up painting rather than sculpture, and presently Giacinto found himself in the studio of one of the foremost painters active in Rome at the time, Giovanni Lanfranco. His apprenticeship to Lanfranco lasted for just two years (1646-47), but the influence of this master was felt throughout his career. In 1647 Brandi was inducted into the Accademia dei Virtuosi al Pantheon and in ca. 1651 into the Accademia di San Luca. In the 1650s . . . Brandi befriended Michelangelo Cerquozzi (1602-1660) and Mattia Preti (1613-1699), and it was probably through the combination of influences from these artists and from Lanfranco that Brandi developed quite an eclectic style. The influence of Lanfranco can be found in Brandi's sensitive hand and finely rounded brushstrokes, while his realistic finish and dramatic chiaroscuro were in all probability due to the influence of Preti."
– from curator's notes at the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
 |
| Giacinto Brandi Fall of the Rebel Angels 1677-79 ceiling fresco Basilica dei SS Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso, Rome |
 |
| attributed to Giacinto Brandi Coronation of the Virgin (study for ceiling fresco) 1680 drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
"Critics as early as Lione Pascoli complained of the great lack of durability of most of the paintings by this artist, for whom quantity rather than quality of production seems to have been the guiding principle. Luigi Lanzi held the same opinion. Brandi's church paintings and frescoes, executed in haste and motivated by a desire for monetary reward, fully substantiate both critics. A few of his works, executed with more care, are admirable in their color and their grandeur of design, though even these betray a certain rawness."
– Hermann Voss, from Baroque Painting in Rome (1925), revised and translated by Thomas Pelzel (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy, 1997)
 |
| Giacinto Brandi St John the Baptist ca. 1678 oil on canvas Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire |
 |
| Giacinto Brandi Bacchus before 1676 oil on canvas Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire |
 |
| Giacinto Brandi Half-figure of a Saint before 1691 drawing British Museum |
 |
| attributed to Giacinto Brandi Three Female Saints on Clouds before 1691 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
 |
| Giacinto Brandi Figures seeking refuge from the Deluge before 1691 drawing British Museum |
 |
| Giacinto Brandi St Peter liberated from Prison by an Angel before 1691 drawing Minneapolis Institute of Art |
 |
| attributed to Giacinto Brandi St John the Baptist before 1691 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
 |
| attributed to Giacinto Brandi Centaur fighting with Lion before 1691 drawing Art Institute of Chicago |