Alessandro Tiarini
(b Bologna, 20 March 1577; d Bologna, 8 Feb 1668). Italian painter and draughtsman. He was the godson of the painter Lavinia Fontana and received his first training in Bologna under her father, Prospero Fontana, until the latter's death in 1597. After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the Carracci Academy, he studied for a brief period with Bartolommeo Cesi. Forced to leave Bologna because of a lawsuit, Tiarini then went to Florence, where he is documented between 1599 and 1606. There he attracted the attention of Domenico Passignano, who introduced him to the circle of Florentine proto-Baroque painters then advocating a return to a more naturalistic style of figure painting. In 1602 Tiarini took part in the fresco decoration of the cloister of S Antonio in the monastery of S Marco, under the supervision of Bernardino Poccetti and Jacopo da Empoli. Shortly afterwards he is documented as receiving several commissions throughout provincial Tuscany, including Pescia, which he visited between 1602 and 1604. These pictures, such as the Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1605; Florence, Pitti), reveal a wide range of stylistic influences, not only from Tuscany but also from Venice and Bologna (where he may have returned for brief visits).
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