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| Sebastiano Ricci Allegory of Marcantonio Colonna's Victory at Lepanto 1693-95 ceiling fresco Palazzo Colonna, Rome |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Allegory of Marcantonio Colonna's Victory at Lepanto (detail) 1693-95 ceiling fresco Palazzo Colonna, Rome |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Allegory of Marcantonio Colonna's Victory at Lepanto (detail) 1693-95 ceiling fresco Palazzo Colonna, Rome |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Allegory of Marcantonio Colonna's Victory at Lepanto (detail) 1693-95 ceiling fresco Palazzo Colonna, Rome |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Allegory of Marcantonio Colonna's Victory at Lepanto (detail) 1693-95 ceiling fresco Palazzo Colonna, Rome |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Eros and Anteros (detail) ca. 1706-1707 oil on canvas, mounted on ceiling Sala della Giovinezza al Bivio Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Youth at the Crossroads between Vice and Virtue (detail) ca. 1706-1707 ceiling fresco Sala della Giovinezza al Bivio Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Youth at the Crossroads between Vice and Virtue (detail) ca. 1706-1707 ceiling fresco Sala della Giovinezza al Bivio Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Youth at the Crossroads between Vice and Virtue (detail) ca. 1706-1707 ceiling fresco Sala della Giovinezza al Bivio Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Youth at the Crossroads between Vice and Virtue (detail) ca. 1706-1707 ceiling fresco Sala della Giovinezza al Bivio Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Hercules and the Centaur ca. 1706-1707 fresco Sala d'Ercole Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Hercules and the Centaur (detail) ca. 1706-1707 fresco Sala d'Ercole Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Cardinal Virtue Fortitude ca. 1706-1707 fresco Sala d'Ercole Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Cardinal Virtue Justice ca. 1706-1707 fresco Sala d'Ercole Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Cardinal Virtue Prudence ca. 1706-1707 fresco Sala d'Ercole Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Cardinal Virtue Temperance ca. 1706-1707 fresco Sala d'Ercole Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
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| Sebastiano Ricci Mercury (detail) ca. 1706-1707 fresco Sala d'Ercole Palazzo Marucelli Fenzi, Florence |
"One of the principal figures in the revival of Venetian painting in the 1700s, Sebastiano Ricci's dramatic and sumptuous work appealed to ecclesiastical and royal patrons across Europe. Ricci's painting was indebted both to Paolo Veronese and other Italian painters of the 1500s, and looked ahead to the next generation of Venetian artists, including Giambattista Tiepolo and Antonio Guardi.
Ricci began his training in Venice but, following a charge of attempted murder, he departed for Bologna in 1681. Over the next fifteen years he was almost constantly on the move and is known to have worked in Parma, Rome, and Milan. His brushes with the law persisted, but Ricci established his career as a decorative painter producing frescoes and paintings for churches and palaces.
Ricci finally returned to Venice in 1696 and received many commissions in the region. He also accepted important commissions in Vienna and Florence, and in 1711 traveled to England with his nephew Marco, also an established painter. The luminous, decorative works Ricci produced for the British aristocracy secured his international reputation. In his later years, he increasingly collaborated with his nephew, creating works across Europe until shortly before his death in 1734."
– from curator's notes at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles