Agostino Carracci is a representative of the famous dynasty of Italian artists of the 16th century. Together with the brothers Lodovico and Annibale, he created his own style of painting, which was a response to the expressiveness of mannerism. The Carracci dynasty played a key role in the development of academism in the visual arts.
Biography: early years
Agostino Carracci was born on August 16, 1557 in Bologna, in northern Italy. He planned to go into jewelry. Thanks to his older brother, Lodoviko became interested in painting, to which he devoted his whole life.
Agostino received his art education in Bologna. Such mentors as Prospero Fontana, Bartolomeo Passarotti, Domenico Tibaldi became his mentors in the art world. Of course, Brother Lodovik also made a huge contribution to the development of Agostino as a painter.
In addition to writing paintings and prints, he was fond of philosophy and poetry. Agostino was the most well-read among the Carracci brothers. He spent a lot of time in Lombardy and Venice, where he studied the works of Correggio, Raphael, Titian.
Creation
At that time, European painting was not going through the best of times. The art was dominated by the so-called mannerism, which is characterized by unnaturalness, too bright colors, elongated figures of people. The Carracci brothers did not support this style and sought to return to the basics of Renaissance painting. So, Agostino's paintings are distinguished by warm colors and field accuracy of objects and people.
In 1584, Carracci began working on the canvas "Death of Actaeon." The painting was completed two years later. Immediately after completing work on it, Agostino began to write "Portrait of a Lute Player".
In the same year, the Carracci brothers opened their own Academy of Painting in Bologna. It was a large workshop where not only practical, but also theoretical classes were held. The brothers instilled in the students the principles of Renaissance painting, devoting a lot of time to studying nature. Lectures were conducted mainly by Agostino.
In 1592, the painting The Communion of St. Jerome was painted, and eight years later, Ascension of the Virgin. They are considered the most famous paintings of Agostino. And the first picture inspired Rubens and Domenichino himself to create the legendary altar works.
Carracci achieved success in the skill of engraving. He borrowed a lot from the legendary Cornelis Court. The most famous engravings of Agostino are "Crucifixion", "Aeneas and Anchis."
