Annibale Carracci: 9 works

'The sad, staring eyes, prominent ears that sit a bit far back on the head, tousled hair, and the long flat nose identify this as Annibale Carracci. He assumed an informal pose, leaning slightly forward with his right elbow extending slightly beyond the frame's bottom and casting a shadow.'

'In 1594, he went to Rome to work for the powerful Farnese family, developing a grand and classicizing style that drew upon his study of antiquity, as well as the Renaissance masters of Venice and central Italy. The Butcher's Shop, which was painted in the early, formative period of Annibale's career, employs a limited palette of earthen colors unlike the unnatural hues of the prevailing Mannerist style.'

'In the company of his brother Agostino and his cousin Lodovico Carracci, Annibale made excursions into the country in order to sketch the landscape. From these quick studies made on the spot he worked up his paintings in the studio.'

'This celebrated drawing by Annibale Carracci is a study for a painted naked youth (known as an ignudo) to the left of the fresco Venus and Anchises, in the Farnese Gallery in Rome. Begun around 1597 by Annibale and his brother Agostino, the fresco cycle forms part of the decorative scheme for a room designed to exhibit Cardinal Odoardo Farnese's collection of antique sculpture.'

'Lodovico was the eldest of the Carracci family of painters, Agostino and Annibale being his cousins.'

'The mural decoration, with scenes from the life of this saint, was commissioned from the famous Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci.'

'Annibale Carracci arrived in Rome in 1595 at the summons of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese in order to work on the decorations of Palazzo Farnese.'

'In 1595 Annibale Carracci moved to Rome. Here he adopted a classicising style and was much inspired by the legacy that artists such as Raphael and Correggio had left behind.'