MEHUS, Livio

Flemish painter and draughtsman, active mainly in Florence. After an obscure training in Milan with a battle-painter, he traveled at the age of 15 years to Rome, where he was a pupil of the painter Pietro da Cortona, and often worked with Ciro Ferri. In Florence, he had extensive patronage from the Medici family. From Florence, he left to join theater players for the Duke of Savoy in Turin, but after three years he returned to painting in Florence, where he joined Stefano della Bella. He assisted in the decoration of the cupolaGLOSSARYIn architecture, a small dome, usually one set on a much larger dome or on a roof; a semi-circular vault. of the church of La Pace at Florence.

Mehus painted allegorical and mythological scenes, landscapes and religious works. He was an eclectic artist, drawing on a wide variety of sources to create a highly individual and innovative style. His art united Venetian colour with elements of the proto-romanticismGLOSSARYA term loosely applied to literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Resulting in part from the libertarian and egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution, the romantic movements had in common only a revolt against the prescribed rules of classicism. The basic aims of romanticism were various: a return to nature and to belief in the goodness of humanity; the rediscovery of the artist as a supremely individual creator; the development of nationalistic pride; and the exaltation of the senses and emotions over reason and intellect. In addition, romanticism was a philosophical revolt against rationalism. of Salvator Rosa, PierGLOSSARYOne of the massive supports on which an arch or upper part of a church stands. A pier is generally larger than a column, but may consist of a cluster of columns. Francesco Mola and Pietro Testa, and he was also inspired by Genoese, Bolognese and Flemish sources.