Vincenzo Damini Explained

Vincenzo Damini (before 1700 – c.1749) was an Italian artist, a pupil of Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, who spent some time in England.

Life

Damini was born in Venice towards the end of the 17th century. He was a pupil of Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, whom he accompanied to England in about 1720. His portrait of the London scenery painter John Devoto is known from a mezzotint after it, made by John Faber.[1] In the north transept of Lincoln Cathedral, he executed a wall painting of four bishops beneath Gothic canopies, replacing an older version of the same subject; his assistant while working on it was the English artist Giles Hussey.[2] [3] Also in Lincoln, he painted a fresco of the Ascension in the chancel and apse of the church of St Peter-at-Arches. The church was demolished in the 1930s, but Damini's oil modello for the work survives.[4]

Five decorative paintings inset into the plaster ceiling of a room designed by James Gibbs for a house in Henrietta Street, London, are attributed to Damini. The entire room, dating from around 1727-32 is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[5]

He returned to Italy in 1730, accompanied by Giles Hussey, whom, according to Edward Edwards he abandoned in Bologna, making off with his belongings.[6] By 1737 he was in L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, where, in that year, he painted an altarpiece at the church of the monastery of San Giuliano.[7] There are three works by him in the collection of the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo: Il battesimo di Gesù (1740), San Tommaso d'Aquino incatena l'eresia (1739) and Carlo d'Angiò ai piedi della Vergine e San Tommaso d'Aquino (1741).[8]

He died in L'Aquila in about 1749.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Portrait Gallery. John Devoto by John Faber Jr, after Vincenzo Damini.
  2. Book: Sanderson. Robert. Lincoln Cathedral; an exact copy of all the ancient monumental inscriptions. 1851. Simkin & Marshall. London. 52.
  3. Book: Kendrick, A. F.. The Cathedral Church of Lincoln. George Bell and Sons. London. 1928. 116.
  4. Web site: Vincenzo Damini (Venice late-17th Century-c. 1749 L'Aquila) The Ascension: a modello for the apse and cupola of St. Peter-at-Arches, Lincoln. Christies. 5 November 2012. Previously in the Parish Church of St Giles in Lincoln, the modello was sold at Christies in 2009
  5. Web site: Room-Parlour from 11 Henrietta Street. Victoria and Albert Museum.
  6. Book: Edwards . Edward . Edward Edwards (painter) . Anecdotes of Painters who have Resided or been born in England. 1808. Giles Hussey . London . 150–1.
  7. Web site: San Giuliano, la Storia. Archeoclub d’Italia - Sede L’Aquila.
  8. Web site: Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo. Vincenzo Damini. 5 November 2012.