Gaetano Gandolfi

Gaetano Gandolfi (31 August 1734 – 20 June 1802) was an Italian painter, draughtsman and sculptor of the late Baroque period, mainly active in and around Bologna.

This reputation was earned by the excellent quality of their work, which lead to numerous major commissions from courts all over Europe.

[1] Gaetano was born in San Matteo della Decima, near Bologna on an estate in the Po Valley that his father managed on behalf of a landowner.

He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ubaldo, and enrolled at the Accademia Clementina in Bologna, where he won several prizes for portraiture and sculpture.

The Gandolfi family are considered to be the last representatives of the grand manner of the Bolognese school of painting, which had established itself almost two centuries earlier with the group of painters trained by the Carracci.The Bolognese school of painting focused on realistic depictions of human anatomy and drawing from live models.