Alessandro Varotari, Detto Il Padovanino Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Alessandro Varotari, known as Il Padovanino, was born on 4 April 1588 in Padua. He was the son of Dario, a painter and architect who worked in Padua during the second half of the sixteenth century. Read the full biography

Alessandro Varotari, known as Il Padovanino, was born on 4 April 1588 in Padua. He was the son of Dario, a painter and architect who worked in Padua during the second half of the sixteenth century. Although it is not known for certain, it is likely that Alessandro learned the art from his father. However, Dario died around 1596-1597, when his son was still very young. Scholars believe that Alexander had nevertheless received an artistic education in a cultural environment frequented by his family.
Among Varotari's first works is "The Incredulity of St. Thomas", which he created in 1610 for the church of St. Thomas the Apostle. In 1614 Il Padovanino moved to Venice, where he studied the works of Titian. Among these, he had the opportunity to admire the "Baccanale degli Andrii", a painting that represents the classicist ideal of the Cadore master. Subsequently, Varotari went to Rome, where he got to know the works of Carracci, Domenichino and Albani, who at that time were working on the decoration of the Farnese Gallery. These artists had a decisive influence on the vision of idealized classicism that characterized the entire production of Il Padovanino. Padovanino continued to work as a painter until the middle of the fifth decade, when he died in Venice in the parish of San Pantalon on 20 July 1649.