CANTARINI, SIMONE. — Painter and engraver, born at Oropezza (Pesaro) in 1612, died at Verona on 16 October 1648; a pupil of Claudio Ridolfi, he also studied the works of the Venetians and of Federico Barocci.
Attracted by the art of Reni, he entered his school; he then went to Rome, where he was influenced by the works of Raffaello. Returning to Bologna, he established a highly renowned and well-frequented workshop; he was summoned to Mantua by that duke, for whom he painted a portrait. Since the duke was not satisfied with it, C. left Mantua and took refuge in Verona, where he died.
An eclectic and academic painter, C. is to be regarded as a disciple of Reni, whose art he remained attached to despite the disagreements that arose between them for a certain period; Malvasia described him as « the most graceful colorist and the most accurate draughtsman of his century », but his merit must be confined within the narrow limits of an easy and prolific disseminator of the Bolognese pictorial movement of his time.
He was a notable engraver and, for his compositions, also made extensive use of the models offered by the works of Veronese, the Carracci, and Reni himself.
Numerous works by him are in Bologna, in the Marches, and in Italian and foreign galleries. They include: La trasfigurazione, in S. Urbano in Bologna; S. Antonio, at Cagli (Pesaro); l'Assunta, in the Bologna picture gallery; a Sacra Famiglia, in the Borghese Gallery in Rome; Giuseppe e la moglie di Puttfarre, in the Dresden Gallery; etc.