CONTI, Domenico - b. ~1742 Mantova, d. 1817 Roma

Domenico Conti (Domenico Bazzani-Conti), Italian painter. He was trained as an artist in his native Mantua by Giuseppe Bazzani, whose surname he subsequently appended to his own. By the time of his apprenticeship to Bazzani, the latter’s style had moved away from the classical style which he had learnt from the exemplars of Mantegna in Mantua, and had adopted a more exotic style typified by the “Lunar” canvases, moonlit and atmospheric pieces with silver tonality. Bazzani had become Director of the Mantua Accademia whilst the teacher of Conti (1767) and his style reverted to a more sombre and spiritual manner which was followed by his pupil.

In 1770, Conti moved to Rome, working largely as a portrait painter in the service of the Papacy, and lived there for the remainder of his life. He adopted the new conventions of Neo-Classicism as did so many of his fellow artists in the Rome of the last quarter of the 18th century. He became professor of painting at Rome and was the teacher of Giuseppe Tominz who lived and studied with him until Conti’s death in Rome in 1817.

Portrait of Antonio Canova in His Studio

The portrait represents Antonio Canova in his studio completing the “Amorino” in 1793 for John David La Touche of Marlay (1729-1817).

The artist are surrounded in the painting by works that were amongst his most important commissions: Tomb of Pope Clement XIII (1792, Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican) left rear; Amorino (1793, National Gallery of Ireland) centre, on pedestal; Psyche (c.1790-93, private collection).