Domenico Cresti, known as Domenico Passignano, was an Italian painter who worked in Florence from the late sixteenth century into the early decades of the seventeenth. He took his name from Passignano, a village near Florence where he was born in 1559 and where he was educated by the Vallombrosan monks. His work belongs to the Counter-Maniera, a late Renaissance current that continued Mannerism in a more restrained tone. His importance lies in bringing Venetian colour into Florentine painting.
As a young man he trained in Florence with Girolamo Macchietti and Giovanni Battista Naldini, and later with Federico Zuccaro, with whom he worked on the decoration of the dome of Florence Cathedral, a project Giorgio Vasari had left unfinished. He accompanied Zuccaro to Rome and then to Venice, where between 1581 and 1589 he studied Tintoretto, Titian, Veronese and Palma il Giovane. This period gave his palette greater richness and an atmospheric luminosity new to his work. Back in Florence he painted frescoes in the Salviati Chapel at San Marco and the Preaching of John the Baptist for San Michele Visdomini, where the influence of Titian and Andrea del Sarto is visible. His other works include a Nativity for Lucca Cathedral, frescoes at San Frediano in Pisa, and portraits of Galileo and Michelangelo.
His painting is known for its speed. He used little paint, and many of his works have suffered serious damage over time. His drawing was not consistently of the highest quality, but his ingenious compositions and colour made up for this. He taught Fabrizio Boschi, Cesare Dandini and Simone Pignoni, and his influence can be seen in the next generation of Florentine painters.
Works (3)
Work by Domenico Passignano depicting the Annunciation, the moment when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary her divine motherhood. It is kept in the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella. The record offers no information on its date, commission or technical features, so this description is limited to its religious subject and its location in a church.
The painting brings together the Virgin Mary and three saints: Christopher of Lycia, Dominic and Francis of Assisi. It is attributed to Domenico Passignano and is now kept in the church of San Martino. The available information does not clarify its commission or history, so its interest lies mainly in its devotional character and in the gathering of these saints within one image.
Where to see the work
- Santa Maria in Vallicella Rome · 1
Curiosities
A nickname for his speed
He was known for painting with great speed, and this gave him a nickname that may have played on the name of his birthplace: Passa Ognuno, roughly meaning he passes everyone. That speed had a cost, because he used less paint and many of his works have since been severely damaged. The skill that brought him fame is also part of the reason much of his output survives in poor condition.
Frescoes in his home village
Beyond his work in Florence, he painted frescoes for the Badia di Passignano, the Vallombrosan abbey in his home village, where he had received his first education. Later, one of his works reached Besançon Cathedral: his Our Lady of the Jacobins, dated 1630. This piece shows that his output travelled well beyond Florence.