CARRACCI, Lodovico, 15-(16-velc3, Italian painter: b. Bologna 1555; d. 1619. He was the eldest of the three Carracci, and is regarded as the chief founder of their school. He was the son of a butcher, and appeared at first to be more fit for grinding colors than for trans ferring them to canvas. But his slowness did not arise from deficiency of talent, but from zeal for excellence. He detested all that was called ideal, and studied only nature, which he imitated with great care. At Florence he studied Andrea del Sarto, and enjoyed the in struction of Passigano. He went to Parma for the purpose of studying Correg.gio, who was then imitated by almost all the Florentine painters. At Bologna he endeavored to gain popularity for his new principles among the young artists, and united himself with his rel atives, Agog= and Annibale Carracci, whom he sent in 1580 to Parma and Venice. In 1589 they established an academy for painters at Bologna, called the °Academia deli Incaminati' (i.e., °of those on the right way*), which they directed jointly till 1600, the year of the de parture of Agostino and Annibale for Rome. From that time till his death Lodovico was sole director. The academy was so successful that similar institutions in Bologna had to be closed. Among his most famous pupils were Domen ichino and Guido Real His first principle was, that the study of nature must be united with the imitation of the best masters. He soon gave an example of this principle in his 'Prophecy of John the Baptist,) in the monastery of the Carthusians, imitating in single figures the style of Raphael, Titian and Tintoretto. With his
two relatives he painted the frieze of the Palazzo Magnani, showing the 'Story of Rom ulus); the frieze of the Palazzo Sampiere, in which his share was the 'Battle of a Giant with the frescoes of the monastery of Santa Maria in Bosco, representing scenes from the lives of Saint Benedict and Saint Cecilia- The finest works of Lodovico are in Bologna, espe cially in the picture gallery or Pinacoteca, and among them are Annunciation); 'The and George and the For the cathedral of Piacenza he painted in 1608-09 two large canvasses repre senting the 'Burial of Mary' which are now in the Galleria Farnese, Parma, and a series of fine frescoes; in the sanctuary, 'Choruses of Angels,) a and in the arch over the tribune 'Angels Strewing Flowers.) In the same year, he executed 'Conversion of Saint for the Munich Gallery. He excelled in architectural views and in drawing, and in general was very thorough in all the branches of his art. He also executed several fine engravings. Con sult °Die Malerschule von Bologna° in Dohme, (Kunst und Kiinstler Italiens' (Vol. III, Leip zig 1879); Bolognini-Amorini, 'Vice dei pittori ed artefici Bolognesi' (Bologna 1843) i 'Le vite di Lodovico, Agostino, Annibale ed altri dei Caracci' (Bologna 1842) ; contemporary ac counts by Malvasia, 'Felsina pittrice) (Bologna 1678; new ed., 1841); Baglione, vite dei pittopi dal pontificato del Gregorio XIII' (Rome 1649).