Carlo Ruthard Biography
Carl (Borromäus Andreas) Ruthard was born in 1630 in Danzig. German painter and religious figure, before reaching Italy, he worked in cities such as Antwerp, Vienna and Regensburg. He carefully studied the works of Pieter Paul Rubens, from whom he absorbed his warm tones and soft skin tones. In his early phase as an artist, he specialized in painting animals; in his works, he was able to capture the violence of predatory animals, especially big cats. He created numerous paintings of battles between dogs, bears, lions and their prey, against a backdrop of harsh and bare nature. Later, he moved to Italy, where he painted many canvases with religious themes, including those for the choir of the church of Sant'Eusebio in Rome. Subsequently, he went to L'Aquila where he was very impressed by the rite of Celestinian Forgiveness, established by Pope Celestine V in the 13th century; therefore, he became a Celestine monk with the name of Fra Andrea and spent the rest of his life in the convent of the basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio. Here he created four large canvases, positioned along the right nave of the basilica. Finally, Carl (Borromäus Andreas) Ruthard died in L'Aquila in 1703.
