- NamePier Francesco Mola
- Sexmale
- Nationality/DatesItalian, born 1612, dead 1666
- PlacesPlace of birth: Coldrerio, Schweiz
Place of death: Rom, Italien
BiographyPier Francesco Mola was born in Coldrerio, in
the canton of Ticino in present-day Switzerland.
His father, the architect and painter Giovanni
Battista Mola, sought commissions in Rome, and
when Pier Francesco was four years old the family
moved there. Mola’s early training was under
Prospero Orsi (c. 1560‒after 1620) and Cavaliere
d’Arpino (1568–1640). In 1633 he moved, first to
Bologna, where he was apprenticed to students
and followers of Annibale Carracci such as Francesco
Albani and Domenichino, then to Milan
and Venice. In Bologna Mola also came into contact
with the work of Ludovico Carracci and his
followers. Guercino’s work in particular came to
play an important part in the formation, growth
and development of Mola’s own style. This artist
inspired in him a softer touch in execution and a
somewhat freer approach to Bolognese classicism,
resulting in greater emphasis on the landscapes
of his compositions. With respect to landscapes,
Mola must also have been influenced by his stay
in Venice. In 1647 he returned to Rome. Amongst
the most famous of his works are frescoes in
the Gesù and the Quirinal Palace, Rome. The
Quirinal Palace fresco of Joseph Making Himself
Known to his Brethren (1657) is perhaps the most
highly regarded of these. Throughout his career,
but especially during his last period, he painted
dramatic landscapes with biblical figures such
as saints, displaying the combined influences of
Venetian colour in the landscapes, and Roman
High Renaissance and Bolognese classicism in
the figures. Amongst the students and followers
of Mola are Antonio Gherardi (1638–1702)
and Giovanni Battista Pace (active in Rome in
1664/65).