Lodovico Carracci
Lodovico Carracci (b. at Bologna, 21 April, 1555; d. there, 13 November, 1619) was a painter, etcher, engraver, and founder of the "Eclectic School" of painting,. He was of humble origin, and his brother Antonio was a tailor by trade. Slow, plodding, but determined, the young Lodovico was advised by his masters, Fontana and Tintoretto, to abandon his chosen career of art, and his fellow-students jeered him, calling him "the ox" on account of his physical and mental characteristics. But neither teachers nor pupils could turn him from the path he had marked out for himself. He travelled throughout Italy to prosecute his studies, and was chiefly influenced by the works of Andrea del Sarto, Titian, and Correggio. He returned to Bologna in 1589 and with Agostino and Annibale, his nephews, opened the "Academy degli Desiderosi", "the school of those who regret the past, despise the present, and aspire to a better future". For eleven years these three worked together, and then, the younger men going to Rome, Lodovico remained the sole head of the Academy until his death. The object of the "Eclectics" was to combine in their art Michelangelo's line, Titian's colour, Correggio's chiaroscuro, and Raphael's symmetry and grace. Midway, however, in their successful career, the three Carracci were forced to modify their eclecticism and rely more and more on nature. The fame of the Carracci Academy was great, its influence spread over all Italy, and Lodovico's was a great name-great more on account of the painters he developed than from his own work with the brush. Albani, Guido Remi, Domenichino, Lanfranco, Spada, Tiarini, and Bonzi (Il Gobbo) were among those who attended the school. Lodovico's paintings are pleasing in colour, and exhibit much intelligence and technical skill, but lack spontaneity, originality, and individuality. He was a teacher rather than an artist. His engravings, much more interesting than his other work, are very beautiful; evidently he began his plates by freely and simply etching them and then finished with an elaborate use of the graver. Chief among his works are:
- "Ecce Homo" (Rome)
- "Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes" (Berlin)
- "Virgin and Child" (Paris).
Among his etched and engraved plates are the "Holy Family" and "Samson overcoming the Lion".
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