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GIGOLA, Giambattista - b. 1769 Brescia, d. 1841 Tremezzo - WGA

GIGOLA, Giambattista

(b. 1769 Brescia, d. 1841 Tremezzo)

Giovanni Battista Gigola (or Cigola), Italian miniaturist and portraitist. He commenced his studies in Italy; in c. 1800 he traveled to Paris, where he joined the studio of Isabey. He may have participated in several exhibitions in Paris beginning from 1803. Sometime later he returned to Milan, where he was a protégé of the viceroy Eugène, Duke of Leuchtenberg (Eugène de Beauharnais). Besides miniatures on ivory, Gigola also painted on enamel. In fact, he is considered the artist who reintroduced this technique to Italy. He also drew illustrations for Byron and Lodovico da Porto. His miniatures show no influence of his master Isabey, they are of a typical Italian technique, with slightly dull colouring and the backgrounds painted in gouache.

Portrait of the Daughters of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio
Portrait of the Daughters of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio by

Portrait of the Daughters of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio

This miniature features four children, one of whom is holding a butterfly on a string. Later copies of the miniature show the butterfly replaced by a string of pearls, so it seems there may have been a reaction against the practice.

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