Jacopo Amigoni

Born in Italy circa 1685, Jacopo Amigoni was first recorded as a member of the Fraglia dei Pittori (painter's guild) of Venice in 1711, where he was probably taught by artist Antonio Bellucci. Four years later, in 1715, Amigoni began his international career in southern Germany, where he continued to work until 1729. It was during his time in Germany that Amigoni first became known as a painter of decorative frescoes (as well as traditional paintings) with a focus on historical and mythological subjects, a reputation that would continue throughout his career.

While in Germany, Amigoni painted decorative ceiling frescoes at the palaces of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, including works at the Elector's residences at Schloss Nymphenburg and Schloss Schleissheim. Amigoni also painted frescoes in the library and abbey chapel of the Benedictine monastary at Ottobeuren. While his work during this time showed the influence of other Italian Baroque artists, including Bellucci, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, Amigoni's lighter colors and more relaxed style anticipated the rise of the Rococo style.

In 1729, Amigoni traveled to England, where he would remain until 1739 with the exception of a visit to France in 1736. During this period, Amigoni seems to have moved more decisively away from the Baroque style to the Rococo. He also began to develop a career in portrait painting and painted a number of royal portraits.

While in England, Amigoni began what would become a lifelong friendship with the famed castrato opera singer Carlo Broschi, also known as Farinelli. Amigoni painted several portraits of Farinelli and Farinelli's personal art collection contained many works by Amigoni. According to Annalisa Scarpa, the words "Soy de Farinelo" were written on the reverse sides of the canvases in Farinelli's collection. Amigoni's Mercury and Venus, in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum, contains this inscription.

In 1739, Amigoni returned to Venice, where he worked until 1747 when he was appointed court painter to Ferdinand VI of Spain. His most significant Spanish work was a large ceiling painting at the Palacio Real titled Allegory of the Virtues of the Spanish Monarchy, painted between 1748 and 1750.

Amigoni died on August 21, 1752 in Madrid. Of his legacy, the Grove Dictionary of Art writes that Amigoni was a "pioneer of the Venetian Rococo" whose "peripatetic career fostered the development of an international decorative style."