PETRINI, Giuseppe Antonio

Swiss painter. Now considered one of the most gifted and original artists of the BaroqueGLOSSARYThe period in art history from about 1600 to about 1750. In this sense the term covers a wide range of styles and artists. In painting and sculpture there were three main forms of Baroque: (1) sumptuous display, a style associated with the Catholic Counter Reformation and the absolutist courts of Europe (Bernini, Rubens); (2) dramatic realism (Caravaggio); and (3) everyday realism, a development seen in particular in Holland (Rembrandt, Vermeer). In architecture, there was an emphasis on expressiveness and grandeur, achieved through scale, the dramatic use of light and shadow, and increasingly elaborate decoration. In a more limited sense the term Baroque often refers to the first of these categories. The development of the Baroque reflects the period's religious tensions (Catholic versus Protestant); a new and more expansive world view based on science and exploration; and the growth of absolutist monarchies. from the Italian region in Switzerland, he was almost totally unknown before the exhibition of his work held at Lugano in 1960. However, neither a precise chronology of his life nor a comprehensive catalogue of his paintings has yet been established.

He studied with Bartolomeo Guidobono after 1700. His early works also suggest other Lombard, Venetian and Roman influences. His late works imply a knowledge of mystic Spanish painting, especially in the austere settings he favoured. He painted works in Como, Bergamo and perhaps Milan, but most of his pictures are located in Lugano and the surrounding area. He is also listed in at least three documents between 1711 and 1753 as fabbriciere of the church of Madonna d'Onegro, Carona, suggesting he had some architectural training.