CERVELLI, Federico
(b. ca. 1638, Milano, d. 1700, Venezia)

Biography

Italian painter. Though born in Milan, Cervelli worked predominantly in Venice where he ran a successful studio where Sebastiano Ricci first trained. He initially trained with Pietro Ricchi (Il Lucchese). From the time of Cervelli's arrival, he was in direct contact with Pietro Liberi, whose influence is evident in his early work. By the late 1670s, however, the artist had relinquished Liberi's pseudo-classical style in favour of the more theatrical manner adopted by his contemporaries.

The Milanese artist is credited with having contributed substantially to the progression of Venetian painting towards the more luminous and fluid style of the Settecento.