Pietro Dandini

Who was Pietro Dandini?

Pietro Dandini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence.

He is also called Pier Dandini. He was the son and pupil of the painter Vincenzo Dandini. Pietro's uncle, Cesare Dandini, was a prominent painter in Florence. Vincenzo's sons, Ottaviano and Vincenzo Dandini the younger also became painters. Among his pupils as Giovanna Fratellini. In addition to having training within the family, he traveled to Bologna, Modena, Venice, and Rome to learn about art. As a painter, Dandini's styles are eclectic, as reflected in his travels, though he has the high-minded graciousness and delicacy characteristic of Florentine Baroque.

Pietro was strongly patronized by members of the Medici Family, including prince Ferdinand and the Grand Duke. He completed a number of ecclesiastical commissions in Florence, including frescoes in the vault for San Jacopo Soprarno; frescoes in the chapel of San Bernardo in the church San Frediano; frescoes in the lunettes for San Giovannino degli Scolopi; frescoes depicting the Ascension of St Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi surrounded by Florentine saints in the dome of the main chapel of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi; an altarpiece of the Beheading of John the Baptist in the church of San Giovannino dei Cavalieri; a painting of St. Francis in Santa Maria Maggiore of Rome; an altarpiece in the Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria in Pisa; an altarpiece of God the Father in the Church of Santuario della Madonna del Giglio of Prato; an altarpiece with an Adoration of the Magi in the Church of Santa Croce in Vinci, Italy; and painting in the former convent of San Francesco de' Macci. Other works in situ can be found at frescoes in the Capella Nuova of Villa La Petraia; murals for Villa Bellavista near Pistoia; and in the Florentine Palazzo Corsini. He painted a large canvas of the Battle of Vienna in 1683 for the auditor Filippo Luci, which won the admiration of contemporary critics such as Francesco Saverio Baldinucci, from whom we can derive the most biographical information about Pietro's life. The Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome has a series of paintings of the Four Seasons. He also painted some pastoral and rustic scenes.