Santi di Tito

Santi di Tito (1536 - 1602 or 1603) was an Italian painter of Late-Mannerist or proto-Baroque style, what is sometimes referred to as Contra-Maniera.

Biography

Born in Borgo San Sepolcro, in Tuscany. There is little documentation to support the alleged training under Bronzino or Baccio Bandinelli. From 1558-1564, he worked in Rome on frescoes in Palazzo Salviati and the Sala Grande of the Belvedere ("Homage of the People") alongside Giovanni de' Vecchi and Niccolò Circignani. He acquired a classical trait, described as "Raphaelesque" by S.J. Freedburg. This style contrasted with the reigning ornate Roman painterliness of the Federico and Taddeo Zuccari or their Florentine equivalents: Vasari, Alessandro Allori, and Bronzino. Among his pupils was Cigoli. Another pupil named Francesco Mochi became a sculptor in the Baroque style, creating among other pieces, the colossal "Saint Veronica', "supervised by Gianlorenzo Bernini and placed in the crossing of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome." [ Wittkower, Rudolf (1999) "Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750" Yale Univ. Press.]

After returning to Florence in 1564, He joined the Accademia del Disegno, and he did not venture to paint outside of Tuscany. He contributed two unusual paintings for the Duke's study and laboratory, the Studiolo of Francesco I in the Palazzo Vecchio. This artistic project was partly overseen by Giorgio Vasari. These paintings are (the "Sisters of Fetonte" [http://www.artothek.de/cgi-bin/art_pl/artdetail.pl?language=044&Bildnr=022416&ID=80785] and "Hercules and Iole" [http://www.artothek.de/cgi-bin/art_pl/artdetail.pl?language=044&Bildnr=022416&ID=80785] ). These works, like many of those in the studiolo are crowded and overworked.

He contributed a "Sacra Conversazione" for the Ognissanti and painted two altarpieces for Santa Croce in Florence: a crowded, but monumental "Resurrection" (1570-74) and a proto-Caravaggesque "Supper at Emmaus" (1574).

He returned to Florence to finished a picture of Sogliani's for S. Domenico, in Fiesole; also that he painted in the Belvedere of the Vatican, and on the catafalque of Michelangelo. He painted a "Resurrection of Lazarus" for the cathedral of Volterra; a "Madonna" for San Salvatore, Florence; a "Burial of Christ" for S. Giuseppe; a "Baptism of Christ by St John" for the Corsini palace, Florence; and as well as portraits in the Uffizi. Santi died in Florence, July 23, 1603 [*cite book| first=Michael| last=Bryan| year=1889| title="Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical" (Volume II: L-Z)| editor = Walter Armstrong & Robert Edmund Graves| pages= page 179| publisher=George Bell and Sons|location=York St. #4, Covent Garden, London; Original from Fogg Library, Digitized May 18, 2007 |id= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=K2cCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=Michael+Bryan+Painters+Engravers#PPP7,M1| authorlink=] .

His masterpiece, and reflective of his mature style, is of the "Vision of Saint Thomas Aquinas", also known as "Saint Thomas Dedicating His Works to Christ". It expresses a simple pious gesture that appeared to have been lost from the theoretically-minded Florentine painters since the days of Masaccio, while maintaining the brittle, demarcated color that is classic of Tuscan works. The off-balance of the figures emphasize a diagonal rise towards the crucified Christ. It is a prescient style that will be more evident in following decades with the ascendant Bolognese School of painting, epitomized by the Agostino and Ludovico Carracci.

Partial anthology of works

Paintings

*"Resurrection of Lazarus" (1576) - Santa Maria Novella, Florence
*"Sacred Conversation"
*"Annunciation" (1576) - Santa Maria Novella, Florence
*"Sisters of Phaeton" (1572) - Studiolo of Francesco I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence [http://www.thais.it/citta_italiane/firenze/index/palazzo_della_signoria/hi_res/00003.htm]
*"Hercules and Iole" (1572) - Studiolo of Francesco I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence [http://www.artothek.de/cgi-bin/art_pl/artdetail.pl?language=044&Bildnr=022416&ID=80785]
*"Pietà with Saints and Military Officer" - Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
*"Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and John the Baptist" [http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424225038/santi-di-tito-holy-family-with-saints-elizabeth-and-john-the-baptist.html]
*"Doubting Thomas" (1583) - Duomo, Borgo San Sepolcro
*"Crucifixion" (1588= - Santa Croce, Florence
*"Marriage at Cana" (1593) - Villa Chierichetti, Colazzo
*"Vision of Saint Thomas Acquinas" (1593) - San Marco, Florence [http://witcombe.sbc.edu/baroquetheory/style3.html]
*"Supper at Emmaus" (1588) - Santa Croce [http://www.mega.it/min/scroce/xuq.jpg]
*"Annunciation" (1602) - Santa Maria Novella
*"Four ages of Woman and the Written Law" - Musee Fesch, Ajaccio [http://www.musee-fesch.com/html/collection_permanente/collection/english/central_northern_italy.html]

Architecture

*Villa Doccia, near Fiesole
*Villa dei Collazzi, in Giogoli

References

*cite book | first= Sydney J.| last= Freedberg| year=1993| title= Pelican History of Art| chapter= Painting in Italy, 1500-1600| editor= | others= | pages=620-625 |Penguin Books Ltd| publisher= | id= | url= | authorlink=