Spanish, 1601-67 Spanish painter, sculptor and architect. He was an artist of rare versatility in 17th-century Spain, although his architectural work was not extensive. While he is also known for his drawings, only about 60 of these are definitely attributable to him, despite the many extant sketches with the name 'Cano' carelessly added by later hands. Unlike most of his Spanish contemporaries, such as Zurbaren or Velezquez, whose artistic styles did not outlive them, Cano's artistic legacy is measured in part by the number of artists who trained in his workshop and went on to become important masters in their own right: the painters Pedro Atanasio Bocanegra, Juan de Sevilla (1643-95) and, more distantly, Jos Risueo, and the sculptors Pedro de Mena and Jos de Mora,  Related Paintings of Cano, Alonso :. | St James the Greater | The Vision of St Bernard | The Miracle of the Well | St. John the Evangelist with the Poisoned Cup a | San Francisco de Borja |
Related Artists:
desnoyer

Pignoni, Simone
Italian, 1611-98 Italian painter and draughtsman. He is best known for his many pictures of voluptuous female nudes, which developed the morbidly sensual style of Francesco Furini. His Self-portrait (c. 1650; Florence, Uffizi), in which he depicts himself building up a rounded female form from a skeleton, conveys his fascination with the subject. He had an early education in Latin, followed by an apprenticeship in the workshop of the bookbinder Zanobi Pignoni, a close relative. Domenico Passignano, who frequented the workshop, suggested that Pignoni be apprenticed to Fabrizio Boschi (1570-1642), one of his own former pupils. Pignoni began to study under Boschi
Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy
(1611C1665), French painter and writer on his art, was born in Paris, son of an apothecary. He was destined for the medical profession, and well educated in Latin and Greek; but, having a natural propensity for the fine arts, he would not apply to his intended vocation, and was allowed to learn the rudiments of design under Perrier and Vouet. At the age of twenty-one he went off to Rome, with no resources; he drew ruins and architectural subjects. After two years thus spent he re-encountered his old fellow-student Pierre Mignard, and by his aid obtained some amelioration of his professional prospects. He studied Raphael and the antique, went in 1633 to Venice, and in 1656 returned to France. During two years he was now employed in painting altar-pieces in the château du Raincy, landscapes, etc. His death was caused by an attack of apoplexy followed by palsy; he expired at Villiers-le-Bel, near Paris. He never married. His pictorial works are few; they are correct in drawing, with something of the Caracci in design, and of Titian in colouring, but wanting fire and expression, and insufficient to keep his name in any eminent repute. He is remembered now almost entirely as a writer rather than painter. His Latin poem, De arte graphica, was written during his Italian sojourn, and embodied his observations on the art of painting; it may be termed a critical treatise on the practice of the art, with general advice to students. The precepts are sound according to the standard of his time; the poetical merits slender enough. The Latin style is formed chiefly on Lucretius and Horace.