Domenichino

Italian Baroque painter Domenico Zampieri was nicknamed Domenichino by his contemporaries because he was very short (the ending “chino” defines something as “little” in Italian). Initially a student of Denis Calvaert, Domenichino moved to the workshop of Annibale Carracci. This proved a financial misstep, as Carracci’s students proved unsuccessful in obtaining prominence or prestigious commissions after their master’s death. Domenichino, however, rose above his peers and worked his way through minor commissions from churches eventually obtaining more prestigious and lucrative assignments upon moving to Naples. Harboring an affinity for Renaissance art, Domenichino believed that art should not only imitate nature, but surpass its beauty by disguising its blemishes. His resulting paintings place religious figures in spectacularly divine landscapes and utilize techniques of layering oil to create luminous qualities within his works.