Santi di Tito Hercules and Iole (detail) ca. 1570-73 oil on canvas Studiolo di Francesco I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence |
Santi di Tito Hercules and Iole ca. 1570-73 oil on canvas Studiolo di Francesco I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence |
Santi di Tito Resurrection of Christ (detail) ca. 1574 oil on panel Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence |
Santi di Tito Resurrection of Christ (detail) ca. 1574 oil on panel Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence |
Santi di Tito Resurrection of Christ (detail) ca. 1574 oil on panel Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence |
Santi di Tito Resurrection of Christ (detail) ca. 1574 oil on panel Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence |
Santi di Tito Resurrection of Christ (detail) ca. 1574 oil on panel Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence |
Santi di Tito Resurrection of Christ (detail) ca. 1574 oil on panel Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence |
Santi di Tito Tobias and the Archangel Raphael 1575 oil on canvas L’église Saint-Eustache, Paris |
Santi di Tito Holy Family ca. 1580 oil on canvas Musée Fesch, Ajaccio, Corsica |
Santi di Tito Allegory of Industry ca. 1582-85 oil on panel private collection |
Santi di Tito Vision of St Thomas Aquinas 1593 oil on panel (altarpiece) Basilica di San Marco, Florence |
Santi di Tito Vision of St Thomas Aquinas (detail with St Catherine of Alexandria) 1593 oil on panel Basilica di San Marco, Florence |
Santi di Tito Stoning of Stephen 1599 oil on panel (altarpiece) Chiesa di Santi Gervasio e Protasio, Florence |
Santi di Tito Assumption of the Virgin 1601 oil on panel (altarpiece) Chiesa di Santo Stefano dei Cappuccini, Arezzo |
"Both painter and architect, Santi di Tito trained in Florence with Agnolo Bronzino; he followed his Mannerist teacher only in his penchant for polished forms and precise draftsmanship. After 1558, Santi painted frescoes in Rome and absorbed Raphael's classicism. Upon his return to Florence in 1564, he joined the Accademia del Disegno, whose members regularly worked with Giorgio Vasari on court commissions. Vasari wanted Mannerism – complex poses, more strident coloring, more gracefulness, and more exaggeration – so Santi compromised his own simple, naturalistic style. After Vasari's death in 1574, Santi worked more often for churches, confraternities, and private clients. His return to Raphael, clear narrative, and the sincere religious sentiment of the Early Renaissance fulfilled the Counter-Reformation Church's demand that art both instruct and move the most humble spectator. In his late period, he used richer color and more realistic light and shade."
– from biographical notes at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles