Pier Francesco Mola

Variant namesauktoriserad namnform: Pier Francesco Mola

DatesBiographical dates: 1612 - 1666 Born: born 1612 Dead: dead 1666

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BiographyBiography: Pier 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).

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