Niccolò Berrettoni


Niccolò Berrettoni was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.

Life and Work

He was born in Macerata Feltria on December 14th. 1637. As a child he studied under Simone Cantarini in Pesaro; at the death of this master, he moved circa 1670 to Rome to work for the large studio of Carlo Maratta. In 1675, while still in the orbit of Carlo Maratta, he entered as an academic into the Roman painter's guild, the Accademia di San Luca. Under the patronage of Maratta, he obtained important commissions; however, in the last years of his life, his relationship with this master altered. According to Pascoli, in 1680 when Berrettoni was about to receive the commission of the ceiling fresco of the nave of San Silvestro in Capite, Maratta, fearing the rising fame of his pupil, caused the commission to be assigned instead to the older Giacinto Brandi. Embittered by the affair, Pascoli said Berrettoni fell ill, and died in February 1682.
Some of Berrettoni's painting executed for aristocratic clients, including the Flight to Egypt are missing. Works ascribed to Berrettoni include: