Tommaso Conca

Variant namesauktoriserad namnform: Tommaso Conca namnvariant: Tommaso Maria Conca stavningsvariant: Tomaso Conca

DatesBiographical dates: 1734 - 1822 Dead: dead 1822-12-13 Born: born 1734-12-22

Gender

Places

Nationality

Function

BiographyBiography: Tommaso Conca was first cousin once removed of the celebrated painter Sebastiano Conca (1680–1764). Initially Conca was apprenticed for ten years in Turin to his father Giovanni, who was also a painter. Between 1748 and 1752 he studied with Sebastiano in Rome. In 1765 Conca was elected to the Accademia Clementina in Bologna and in 1770 to the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. In the 1770s Conca and his family were tenants of the Neapolitan government at the Villa Farnesina in Rome. As supervisor of the pensionati for the palatine elector and the Accademia Napoletana in Rome, Conca in time became an important figure in the education of young artists. He was knighted in 1790 and served as principe of the Roman Accademia di San Luca from 1792 to 1795. Conca was also a member of the Accademia dell’Arcadia, participating in its activities under the adopted academy name of Demofilo Emerio. Membership of this influential academy meant that he came into contact with important figures and potential clients like the papal antiquaries Giovanni Battista and Ennio Quirino Visconti (1722–1784 and 1751–1818, respectively). Due to the influence of his cousin Sebastiano, a lingering Rococo touch was always present in Conca’s work, despite his continual development towards the Neoclassicist style. He befriended both Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–1779) and Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787), and may have collaborated with Mengs in the decoration of the coffee house at the Villa Albani. Eventually decoration became Conca’s main professional concern, and it is largely for his output in this field that he is remembered today.

External links