The Life and Art of Tommaso Donini
Born in Rome, Tommaso Donini was an Italian painter who was active primarily in Rome. He was the son of Marco, a Venetian gilder. During his training, Donini studied under masters Giovanni Lanfranco and Angelo Caroselli. While working in Caroselli's workshop, he was tasked with making many copies of the works of Caravaggio, a skill that led to him being known by the nickname Il Caravaggino. His life was marked by a litigious nature, including a 1635 trial involving a stabbing. He also attended the drawing academy of Andrea Sacchi between 1630 and 1632, and the two artists collaborated on various works.
Known Works and Artistic Legacy
Donini's surviving body of work is limited. His frescoes in the Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina and the Church of San Giuseppe a Capo le Case have been destroyed. Notable extant works include:
- A God and angels adoring the holy sacrament in the Basilica of San Carlo al Corso, painted between 1627 and 1632.
- A Saint Ambrose located in the sacristy of the Basilica of San Carlo al Corso.
- The Funeral of St. Filippo Benizi and the Miracle of St. Filippo Benizi, both created between 1630 and 1632.
- A David with the Head of Goliath, currently held in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, which depicts an exhausted David lifting the severed head of Goliath.
Other works attributed to him include a Madonna with Child and Saints and a Saint Lawrence baptizing a neophyte, currently in the Valvisciolo Abbey.
