Carlo Antonio Ridolfi Paintings

Carlo Antonio Ridolfi was an Italian art historian, painter, and writer of the Baroque period, known primarily for his biographies of Venetian artists. Born in Lonigo, near Vicenza, in 1594, Ridolfi trained as a painter under Antonio Vassilacchi and Dario Varotari in Padua, but his legacy rests more on his contributions to art history than on his artistic productions. His role as a historian is particularly significant due to the detailed accounts he provided of the Venetian School of painting, which have been an invaluable source of information for later art historians and scholars.

Ridolfi moved to Venice around 1612, where he became deeply involved in the artistic circles of his time. While he practiced painting, his interest gravitated towards the lives and works of his contemporaries and predecessors. In 1648, he published his major work, 'Le Maraviglie dell’Arte ovvero, Le vite degli illustri pittori Veneti e dello Stato,' which translates to 'The Marvels of Art, or, The Lives of the Illustrious Venetian Painters and the State.' This two-volume work is considered one of the most important sources on Venetian art and artists of the 16th century, a complement to Giorgio Vasari's famous 'Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.'

Ridolfi's work is valued for its rich anecdotes and detailed descriptions of techniques, workshops, and the artistic milieu of the time. It covers the biographies of the great masters such as Titian, Tintoretto, and Paolo Veronese, and provides insights into their personal lives and artistic development. While his accounts are not always entirely reliable, as they sometimes include apocryphal stories and unverified facts, Ridolfi's 'Le Maraviglie dell’Arte' remains a fundamental text for understanding the context and achievements of the Venetian art tradition.

Carlo Antonio Ridolfi himself lived and worked during a period of decline in the Venetian Republic's power and influence. Nevertheless, his biographies capture the splendor of its artistic zenith. Ridolfi died in Venice in 1658, leaving behind a legacy as a diligent chronicler of the arts, whose work continues to inform and enrich the history of Italian Renaissance and Baroque art.