Jacopo Alessandro Calvi Il Sordino Biography
Jacopo Alessandro Calvi (Bologna, 1740-1815) was an Italian painter and poet who distinguished himself in the second half of the eighteenth century.
His partial deafness earned him the nickname Sordino. He was an apprentice in Giuseppe Varotti's workshop from 1750 and studied from 1752 at the Accademia del Nudo in Bologna. Raised under the guidance of Giampietro Zanotti, secretary of the Clementina Academy, from a young age Calvi dedicated himself to the "different sister arts" of painting and poetry.
His success was evident from his admission to the Clementine Academy in 1770 and from the large number of orders he received, especially for paintings intended for religious purposes. He wrote the first critical monograph on Guercino, published in 1808, and a study on Francesco Francia, published in 1812. Furthermore, Calvi also played the role of expert at the Clementine Academy, engaged in the arduous task of governing the risk of dispersion of art goods during the Napoleonic spoliations.
Although he did not share Jacobin values, Calvi was called to be part of the commission for the "National Recognition" Competition in 1802, which was held in Milan to celebrate Napoleon's return after the Austrian interlude. In 1804, he was also one of the professors of the new Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna.
His works are found in numerous churches in Bologna, as well as in the parishes of the province. Furthermore, a self-portrait is preserved in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna and one of his works is also present in the Pinacoteca Civica of Pieve di Cento.
