97 - Domenico Fiasella (Sarzana 1589 – Genoa 1669), attributed

Domenico Fiasella (Sarzana 1589 – Genoa 1669), attributed Jacob’s Dream Oil on canvas 99 x 120 cm Domenico trained in Genoa in the very early 17th century under the tutelage of Giovanni Battista Paggi. He broadened his knowledge during a decade (1606–1616) spent in Rome, where he came into contact with the great masters of the previous century: Raffaello Sanzio, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Titian, and Sebastiano del Piombo. He also came into contact with Caravaggio and the so-called Caravaggists, as well as with the classicist innovations of the Carracci and their students. He returned to Sarzana in 1617, where he painted for the parish church of San Lazzaro and the church of San Francesco. He subsequently received numerous commissions both in Liguria and in the Po Valley—in Mantua, Piacenza, and as far afield as Naples and Palermo. Toward the middle of the 17th century, having achieved artistic maturity and due recognition, he painted, among other works, the large “Assumption of Our Lady of the Mountain” and provided drawings and designs for the official statues in Genoa. He was a friend of Orazio Gentileschi, who was active in Genoa from 1621 to 1625, and took Gentileschi’s son Francesco into his workshop. Eager to share experiences with artists from other backgrounds, he collaborated, among others, with Domenico Cresti, or Crespi, known as “il Passignano.” He was also highly active in training young Ligurian artists; among his students were Gregorio De Ferrari and Giovanni Battista Casoni. Domenico Fiasella (Sarzana 1589 – Genoa 1669) attributed Jacob’s Dream Oil on canvas 99 x 120 cm