Jacopo Amigoni

Jacopo Amigoni, (1682-1752) was a Venetian rococo painter and was also known under various names such as Giacomo Amiconi, Jakob Amigoni and Santiago Amiconi. He was born in Naples in 1682 and died in Madrid on August 21 or 22, 1752. His artistic oeuvre is wide-ranging and includes paintings, frescoes, drawings and engravings in the late Baroque and Rococo styles.
He is attributed to the Venetian school of painting and, together with Sebastiano Ricci and Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, is one of the pioneers of Rococo. Thanks to his activities in many parts of Europe, Amigoni played a prominent role in the spread of this new artistic style.
Amigoni’s role as a portrait painter in early 18th century Italy is particularly noteworthy. Above all, his works created in Germany before 1730 and his involvement in the design of frescoes had a considerable influence on the development of southern German rococo and influenced artists such as Johann Baptist Zimmermann, Franz Joseph Spiegler and Franz Anton Erler.
Amigoni’s style evolved over time from a late Baroque idiom with a rich and vibrant colour palette to a lighter Rococo style characterized by more subtle, delicate and generally cooler tones. His brushstrokes were flowing, soft and loose, and he drew mainly from the traditions of Venetian painting, with the influence of Antonio Bellucci particularly evident in the modeling of the figures.
In his nudes, the figures were idealized in a classically inspired manner and the bodies were characterized by smooth modelling and soft contours. The transitions between the nude body parts, including the arms and décolleté in the portraits, were often blurred and seemed to merge with the surroundings. This applies in particular to the depiction of female figures. In his frescoes after Schleißheim, the figures appear less dramatic and are instead arranged in a loose and relaxed pose.
Over time, especially after his return to Italy in 1739, his style showed a slight tendency towards classicism with simpler figure compositions and a lighter, cooler color palette. Nevertheless, Amigoni’s painting remained softer and more restrained in comparison to Tiepolo’s, even if he was inspired here and there by his younger colleague.