Francesco Mancini Legend of Psyche 1733 fresco Palazzo Colonna, Rome |
Francesco Mancini Assumption of the Virgin 1737 fresco Basilica della Misericordia, Macerata |
Francesco Mancini Allegory of the Church defeating Paganism before 1756 oil on canvas Palazzo Buonaccorsi, Macerata |
"Born in Sant' Angelo in Vado (Romagna), Francesco Mancini was at first (ca. 1710) a pupil of Carlo Cignani in Forlì. After settling in Rome, he was for a short period influenced by Marcantonio Franceschini, of whom Mancini's use of grayish, almost monochromatic color is very reminiscent. At a later date, Carlo Maratti and his followers seem to have been the dominating influence. A stylistic affinity with Benedetto Luti is also unmistakable. Mancini was active in Rome and even more so in the Marches, in Romagna and Umbria, chiefly as a painter of altarpieces and frescoes. He is among the most significant Roman masters of the first half of the Settecento. Possessing an unaffected and simple grandeur of invention, expressive in his draftsmanship and individual characterization, and charming as a painter of angels and Madonnas, Mancini rises decisively above the conventional average painting of the later followers of Maratti. He is distinctive in his coloration, which tends strongly toward a grayish tonality and gives a rather joyless quality to many of his works. Mancini received the recognition he deserved only in his native region, and seems to have preferred to work there."
– Hermann Voss, from Baroque Painting in Rome (1925), revised and translated by Thomas Pelzel (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy, 1997)
Francesco Mancini Rest on the Flight into Egypt before 1756 oil on canvas Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire |
Francesco Mancini Rest on the Flight into Egypt before 1756 oil on canvas Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome |
Francesco Mancini Struggle between Cupid and Pan before 1756 oil on canvas private collection |
attributed to Francesco Mancini Sacrifice of Noah before 1756 drawing Museo del Prado, Madrid |
Francesco Mancini Saint adoring the Christ Child ca. 1738 drawing Philadelphia Museum of Art |
attributed to Francesco Mancini Allegorical Figure with Arms of Alexander VIII (Ottoboni) and Arms of the Papacy before 1756 drawing Art Institute of Chicago |
after a painting by Francesco Mancini King David 18th century engraving by Gasparo Massi British Museum |
after a painting by Francesco Mancini St Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy 18th century engraving by Giuseppe Stolz Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Achenbach Foundation) |