By Ioannis Tzortzakakis

Painter and engraver Sisto Rosa, called Badalocchi or Badalocchio, was born on 28 June 1585 in Parma. He worked in his native city of Bologna as well as Rome and Reggio Emilia. In Bologna he entered the workshop of Agostino Carracci; in Rome he was a student of Giovanni Lanfranco and later of Annibale Carracci, with whom he worked, among others, in the decoration of the Galleria Farnese and the Herrera Chapel in Santa Maria di Monserrato, Rome.

In 1607 he published, with Lanfranco, a series of 51 etchings after Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican Loggia. Even though, he did not receive a reputation when he was alive, it is believed today that Badalocchio was a prominent figure in bringing the novelties of Roman Baroque to northern Italy. He died sometime after 1621.

Further Reading: 

Tuyll, Carel van (1983) “Badalocchio in America: Three New Works” in The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 125, No. 965, pp. 468-476.


Susanna and the Elders, c. 1609. Oil on canvas. Ringing Museum of Art, Sarasota. 

The Entombment of Christ, c. 1610. Oil on canvas. Galleria Borghese, Rome. 

Holy Family, c. 1610. Oil on panel. Wadsworth Athaneum, Connecticut. 

Jacob and Laban with Leah and Rachel, from the series of etchings “Biblical Scenes, after the frescoes by Raphael in the Vatican Loggia,” 1607. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. 

Christ Carried to the Tomb, after 1609. National Gallery, London. 

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