Carlo Ceresa Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Carlo Ceresa was born on 20 January 1609 in San Giovanni Bianco and died on 29 January 1679 in Bergamo. He was an important painter, portraitist and painter of sacred subjects. Read the full biography

Carlo Ceresa was born on 20 January 1609 in San Giovanni Bianco and died on 29 January 1679 in Bergamo. He was an important painter, portraitist and painter of sacred subjects. Having been born into a modest family, Ceresa became passionate about self-taught painting. At the age of twenty he painted his first frescoes in the churches of neighboring towns, while his portraits were already remarkably expressive.
His style is defined as "Venetian", as he often used very strong colors, combined in a simple and faithful way. His marriage to Caterina Zignoni, coming from a wealthy family, allowed him to enter the bourgeois and aristocratic circle of Bergamo, becoming the most sought-after portraitist. Luminism, naturalism and essentiality are the characteristic traits of his paintings, which represent almost tangible faith and devotion, approaching a style of "painting of reality", despite the sacred subjects.
Among Ceresa's vast production of works, the "Madonna in glory and saints" in Ponteranica and the "St. Vincent in glory protecting the city" in the cathedral of Bergamo are worth mentioning. He died in 1679 in Bergamo, passing on his passion for painting to his sons Giuseppe and Antonio.