CRETI, DONATO. Painter and engraver, born in Cremona on 24 February 1677, died in Bologna on 29 January 1749. He worked primarily in the latter city, where he learned the first elements of painting from Lorenzo Pasinelli.
The preceding Bolognese artistic tradition found in him a worthy continuer, as evidenced by the large canvases depicting St. Vincent Ferrer raising a child (much retouched) in S. Domenico in Bologna; The Virgin in Glory venerated by St. Ignatius and St. Charles aiding the poor (executed by him in his later years), both in the church of S. Pietro in Bologna. Other works by C. are found in the sanctuary of S. Luca near Bologna, in the city’s picture gallery and municipal collections, as well as in some churches in Bergamo, Rimini, and Lucca. The elegance of his figures and the refinement of his colouring show affinities with 18th-century French painting. He had several pupils, among whom were Francesco l’Ange, Carlo Giovannini, and Ercole Graziani the Younger.