Bernardo Strozzi

Italian (Genoese), 1581-1644

BiographyStrozzi was born in Genoa. In 1598, at the age of 17, he joined a Capuchin monastery, a reform branch of the Franciscan order. When his father died c1608, he left the order to care for his mother, earning their living with his paintings, which were often influenced by Franciscan teachings. When his mother died c1630, Bernardo was pressured in court by the Capuchins to re-enter the order. He was briefly imprisoned in Genoa, and upon release, fled to Venice to avoid confinement in a monastery in 1631. He became nicknamed all his life as il prete Genovese (the Genoa priest). Venice infused his painting with a gentler edge, a style more acceptable to the local patronage. After a commission to paint Claudio Monteverdi his fame grew, and his portrait paintings included many of the leading Venetians.

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