Belisario Corenzio

Belisario Corenzio
The Virgin and Child
Born1558
Kyparissia, Greece
Died1646(1646-00-00) (aged 87–88)[1]
Esperia, Italy
Resting placeTomb at Santi Severino e Sossio
NationalityGreek
EducationApprentice to Tintoretto
Notable workFrescos Crypt of Matthew
StyleMannerism
MovementItalian Renaissance
Italian Baroque

Belisario Corenzio (Greek: Βελισσάριος Κορένσιος 1558–1646) was a Greek-Italian painter, active in Venice and Naples. He is one of few Greek painters that did not belong to the Cretan Renaissance like his contemporaries of the time. He escaped the maniera greca completely. He adopted the Venetian style. Other similar Greek painters were Marco Basaiti, Ioannis Permeniates, Antonio Vassilacchi and El Greco. He was sometimes referred to as Il Greco. His teacher was prominent Venetian painter Tintoretto. In 1590, at age 32 Corenzio settled in Naples. Corenzio was influenced by Cavalier d'Arpino. He continued to flourish in the region. His apprentices included: Luigi Rodriguez, Andrea di Leone, Onofrio De Lione and Massimo Stanzione. Corenzio painted many frescos that survived today. Some of his works are in the Church of San Severino and Certosa di San Martino. His style resembles Caravaggio. An Italian legend in Naples exists involving Corenzio, Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera, and Battistello Caracciolo. They were referred to as the Cabal of Naples. The three painters were rumored to have poisoned their competition for painting contracts. The rumors lack documented evidence. The three painters were very popular in Naples. Corenzio frescoed the Crypt that holds the remains of Matthew the Apostle at Salerno Cathedral and it depicts scenes from the Gospel of Matthew. Corenzio was one of the most celebrated fresco painters in Naples during his time. His drawings can be found all over the world namely at the Metropolitan Museum, Museo di Capodimonte and Louvre.[2][3][4][5][6] More recently, his life and work was studied by the Greek art historian Panayotis K. Ioannou in a comprehensive monograph (Belisario Corenzio: La Vita e le Opere).[7]

  1. ^ Abbate, Francesco (1997). Art History in Southern Italy Volume 3 -. Rome, Italy: Progetti Donzelli. p. 244. ISBN 88-7989-653-9.
  2. ^ Hatzidakis, Manolis & Drakopoulou, Eugenia (1997). Greek painters after the fall (1450-1830) Volume B. Center for Modern Greek Studies E.I.E. p. 108.
  3. ^ Eugenia Drakopoulou (July 27, 2021). "Βελισσάριος Κορένσιος (Corenzio)". Institute for Neohellenic Research. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Hobbes, James R. (1849). The Picture Collector's Manual Being a Dictionary of Painters, Containing Fifteen Hundred More Names Than in Any Other Work. London UK: T. & W. Boone. p. 49.
  5. ^ Hoffmann, E.T (1923). Weird Tales Volumes 1 & 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 82.
  6. ^ Landseer, Edwin (1876). The Art Journal of London Volume 15. London: Virtue and Company. p. 171.
  7. ^ Ioannou, Panayotis (2011). "Belisario Corenzio. La vita e le opere, (in greco)," [Belisario Corenzio]. Academic Studies Hellenic Institute of Venice. Crete University Press.