Sammachini

Orazio Samacchini was an Italian painter active in Rome, Parma, and Bologna in the second half of the 16th century. Stylistically his work belongs to the late Renaissance and Mannerism.  Although little is known about his youth and early training, Samacchini’s first paintings attest to his admiration for Vasari, Procaccini, and Tibaldi. Samacchini created his first large decorations in Parma. There he executed a cycle of frescoes on the History of Julius Caesar for the palace of the Sanvitale family. He also created the decorations for the Sala di Circe e Didone at the Rossi Castle. These commissions were met with success and that led Samacchini to Rome in 1563. In Rome Samacchini worked alongside Federico Zuccarro at the Vatican. After Samacchini’s stay in Rome, the artist worked mainly in Bologna and Parma, where he created large altarpieces and important fresco decorations for religious buildings. Notable commissions he received included the decoration of the vaults and the apse of the north transept of Parma Cathedral, and the altarpiece of the Crucifixion with the Senator Gozzadini for the Servi church in Bologna.