Cigoli, or Lodovico Cardi, was born in Italy on September 21, 1559. He was a painter and architect in the late Mannerist and early Baroque periods, and though he was trained in mannerist techniques, he preferred expressionism and came to embrace that style. The Flight into Egypt is typical of his work; he frequently painted religious scenes, and his masterpieces made their way to significant locations, including the Pitti Palace and Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the major basilicas in Rome. His painting St. Peter Healing the Lame Man (shown below) was considered the third most beautiful painting in Rome, after Transfiguration by Raphael and The Last Communion of St. Jerome by Domenichino. He was called “Divine,” a title only bestowed on one other painter, Michelangelo.
Below are shown The Descent from the Cross, St. Peter Healing the Lame Man, and The Sacrifice of Isaac.
