The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Magnasco, Allessandro
(äls-sän´dr mägnäs´k) (KEY) , 1667–1749, Italian painter. Magnasco’s style developed from an early apprenticeship to a Venetian painter and from his exposure to Lombard mannerism during his years as a Tuscan court painter. His works are characteristically gloomy, storm-torn landscapes and ruins, peopled with small, attenuated figures, and illuminated by flickering light. Magnasco’s themes are primarily religious, and his paintings have a mystical, fantastic quality often compared to that of El Greco. Among his works are The Baptism of Christ (National Gall., Washington, D.C.) and the late work Synagogue (Cleveland Mus. of Art).
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