Luigi Miradori

(b Genoa, c. 1600-10; d ?Cremona, 1656-7). Italian painter. He is documented in Genoa in 1630 and 1631 and himself declared his Genoese origins in inscriptions on several paintings. In 1632 he was in Piacenza, where he seems to have lived for several years. His first dated picture, the Holy Family (1639; Piacenza, Mus. Civ.), was probably painted there. A group of works that predate this painting suggest that the sources of his early style united aspects of the art of Lombard painters (particularly Morazzone and Francesco Cairo) with Emilian and, above all, Genoese sources. The four Legends of Samson (Milan, priv. col., see 1973 exh. cat., figs 196, 197, cat. nos 175-6), which probably date from the artist's early years, and the Pagan Sacrifice (Parma, G.N.) are all strongly influenced by Bernardo Strozzi, Gioacchino Assereto and Domenico Fiasella, whereas the Martyrdom of a Saint (ex-Borg de Balzan priv. col., Florence) is indebted to Andrea Ansaldo. The animals in the foreground of the Piacenza Holy Family recall the art of Sinibaldo Scorza. Throughout his career Miradori's art is distinguished by his naturalistic rendering of detail and a subtle use of spotlit effects, which suggest an awareness of Caravaggesque painting. Indebted to this tradition is his youthful St Sebastian Tended by St Irene (Cremona, Cavalcabo priv. col., see 1973 exh. cat., fig. 192), although this is also reminiscent of Tanzio da Varallo, and his Lute Player (Genoa, Gal. Pal. Rosso; see fig.), which has in the past been attributed to Orazio Gentileschi.

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