Sebastiano Mazzoni (Florence, c. 1611 - Venice, 22 April 1678) was an Italian Baroque painter who worked between Florence and Venice. He matters chiefly for his role in Venetian Baroque painting: his works of the 1650s and 1660s already carry the dramatic, painterly qualities later associated with eighteenth-century Venetian art.
He trained in Florence in the studio of Baccio del Bianco around 1632-33 and entered the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno there in 1638. He is documented in Florence as late as 1646, and by 1648 he had settled in Venice, where he remained until his death. In Venice he signed and dated two altarpieces for the church of San Beneto, in 1648 and 1649, and became a close friend of Pietro Liberi.
His style is individual and somewhat enigmatic. Scenes of unresolved movement are seen from awkward viewpoints, a manner loosely comparable to his contemporary Francesco Maffei and, from a distance, to the distortions of Lorenzo Lotto. Key works include the Annunciation of the 1650s and Cleopatra's Banquet (1660), alongside the Death of Cleopatra. His late paintings, such as the Dream of Pope Honorius III (1669), have an unclear, irrational space and a visionary mood drawing on Tintoretto.
His legacy lies in his pupil Andrea Celesti and in the influence he had on Sebastiano Ricci and Ghislandi.
Works (3)
This oil on canvas takes as its subject the raising of the cross, an episode of Christ's Passion that religious painting depicted often. Nothing is known about its commission or date, so it is best to stick to what is visible: a scene of collective effort around the timber, with the act of lifting the cross at its centre. The painting is held in the Ca' Rezzonico museum.
Religious painting depicting the Annunciation, the Gospel scene in which an angel announces to Mary the divine message. Created by Sebastiano Mazzoni in 1650 as an oil on canvas, it belongs to a subject long established in Christian art. The available information does not specify its commission or later history.
The painting shows Saint Catherine refusing to worship idols, a scene tied to the steadfastness of her faith. It is an oil on canvas now held at the Gallery of the Academy in Venice. Reliable information about its date and commission is lacking, so it is best approached through the iconography of the subject.
Where to see the work
- Gallerie dell'Accademia Venice · 2
- Ca' Rezzonico Venice · 1