Mario Balassi

Who was Mario Balassi?

Mario Balassi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Florence and Rome.

He began training with Jacopo Ligozzi, then with Matteo Rosselli, and finally with Domenico Passignano who he accompanied him to Rome to work under the papacy of Pope Urban VIII Here he was patronized by Ottavio Piccolomini and accompanied him to Vienna, where he painted a portrait of the Emperor Ferdinand III. He was commissioned by Taddeo Barberini to paint a Transfiguration now found in the church of the Cappuccini of Rome. Returning to Florence, he painted a St. Francis for the Compagnia delle Stimmate. He also painted a Noli me tangere for the convent of the Maddalena. On his return to Italy he worked in Prato, Florence, and Empoli. For the church of Sant' Agostino, in Prato, he painted a picture of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, and for the Society of the Stigmata in Florence, a St. Francis. In the Vienna Gallery there is a Madonna and Child painted on stone. Among his pupils was Andrea Scacciati.