Lodovico Cardi was born on 21 September 1559 in Castello di Cigoli, the source of his nickname, Il Cigoli. A preeminent artist in early seventeenth-century Florence, Cigoli was one of the first to reject Mannerism, preferring sober naturalism and clarity to complicated artifice. Trained by Alessandro Allori, Cigoli found greater kinship with other “anti-mannerist” artists like Federico Barocci and Santi di Tito and proved to be a major figure in the development of the Baroque style.

Reference: Miles L. Chappell. “Cigoli, Lodovico.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. .

Further reading: Colorire naturale e vero: Figline, il Cigoli e i suoi amici by Novella Barbolani di Montauto and Miles Chappell, eds. (2008)

St. Francis, 1597-99. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Head of Christ, 1559–1613. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Purchase, Mrs. Carl L. Selden Gift, in memory of Carl L. Selden, 1987

The Adoration of the Shepherds with Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1599. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gwynne Andrews Fund, 1991 (1991.7)

The Sacrifice of Isaac, c. 1607. Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

Portrait of Il Cigoli

Tags: 16th century, 17th Century, alessandro allori, allori, art, art history, Barocci, Baroque, cigoli, Florence, florentine painting, history, il cigoli, italian art, Italy, late renaissance, ludovico cardi, naturalism, painting in italy, painting in sixteenth-century Florence, Santi di Tito