# Luigi Primo

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{{Short description|Italian painter (c. 1605–1667)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}

thumb|360px|''Venus Lamenting the Death of Adonis''

'''Louis Cousin''', in Italy mainly known as '''Luigi Primo''' or '''Luigi Gentile'''<ref>Further name variations: ''Louis Primo'', ''Lodewijk Cousin'', ''Luigi Cousin'', ''Lodovico Primo'', ''Ludovicus Cousin, alias Primo, alias Gentile'', ''Louis Cousin genaamd Primo'', nicknames ''Gentiel'' or ''Gentile''</ref> (c. 1605–1667) was a Flemish painter of the [Baroque](/source/Baroque) period, who was active in [Italy](/source/Italy) for a major part of his career. Working in a style, which combined his Flemish roots with the profound influence of Italian art, he was known for his portraits and [altarpiece](/source/altarpiece)s.<ref name=ga>Gash, John; Montagu, Jennifer, ''Algardi, Gentile and Innocent X: A Rediscovered Painting and Its Frame'', in: The Burlington Magazine, 1980, pp. 55–56</ref>

==Life==
His birthplace was probably the village Breivelde near [Ninove](/source/Ninove) in present-day Belgium but it is also possible that he was born in Brussels.<ref Name=had>[http://www.hadrianus.it/people/louis-cousin Biographical data] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205084547/http://www.hadrianus.it/people/louis-cousin |date=5 December 2013 }} on Hadrian</ref> A birth before 1606 is also considered possible. He was apprenticed to [Gillis Claeissins the younger](/source/Gillis_Claeissins_the_younger) in Brussels in 1617.<ref name=RKD>[http://explore.rkd.nl/explore/artists/18792 Biographical details] at the [Netherlands Institute for Art History](/source/Netherlands_Institute_for_Art_History) {{in lang|nl}}</ref> He left the southern Netherlands while still young.<ref name=ox>Carl Van de Velde. "Primo, Luigi." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 18 January 2017</ref> According to the 17th-century biographer [Joachim von Sandrart](/source/Joachim_von_Sandrart) Cousin continued his studies in [Paris](/source/Paris).<ref name=Sandrart>[http://ta.sandrart.net/de/text/546#idx546.2 Ludovicus Primo] in: Joachim von Sandrart, ''Teutsche Academie der Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste'', Nürnberg 1675/1679/1680</ref>
[[File:Luigi primo-los cuatro doctores de la iglesia.jpg|thumb|left|290px|''The four Doctors of the Church'', [Royal Palace of Madrid](/source/Royal_Palace_of_Madrid)]]

He was in Rome as early as 1626.<ref name=RKD/> Here he would remain for thirty years. He joined the [Bentvueghels](/source/Bentvueghels), the informal association of mainly Dutch and Flemish painters resident in Rome.  In the Bentvueghels he was given the nickname ''Gentile'' or ''Gentiel'' on account of his gentle manners. He was in Rome commonly known by his nickname Gentile. He used also in Italy the surname 'Primo' which is a translation into Italian of his surname which in [French](/source/French_language) means 'cousin'.

In Rome he studied the works of the great masters.<ref name=passeri>[https://books.google.com/books?id=U_Y9AAAAcAAJ&dq=Luigi+Gentile&pg=PA249 Luigi Gentile] in: Giovanni Battista Passeri, ''Vite de pittori, scultori ed architetti che anno lavorato in Roma'', Roma, 1772, blz. 249-253]</ref> The first work in Rome that brought him some fame was a fresco on the side altar of the [Santi Domenico e Sisto](/source/Santi_Domenico_e_Sisto) church in Rome.  It depicts a miracle attributed to [Dominic Guzman](/source/Dominic_Guzman). Then he painted one of four oil paintings in the Saint Catherine chapel in the [Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore](/source/Basilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore). This work increased his reputation and earned him new, well-paid commissions.<ref Name=passeri/>

In 1635 he joined the confraternity of the [Church of St. Julian of the Flemings](/source/Church_of_St._Julian_of_the_Flemings), signing with 'Ludovicus Cousin, alias Primo, alias Gentile'.  He was further inducted into the [Accademia di San Luca](/source/Accademia_di_San_Luca) in 1650 and even became its director from 1651 to 1652.<ref name=ox/> The admission criteria of the Accademia were very strict and considered both the artistic merit and personal qualities of the candidate. The selection process consisted of two rounds of voting in order to ensure that only the most eminent artists were selected and the prestige of the Accademia would be preserved.<ref name=Missirini>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DzpAAAAAYAAJ Memorie per servire alla storia della Romana Accademia di S. Luca]</ref>
thumb|230px|Portrait of a Noblewoman of Ancona (1650–1660)

The seventeenth-century Italian biographer [Giovanni Battista Passeri](/source/Giovanni_Battista_Passeri) wrote that Cousin's passion for women induced him to neglect his work and squander all his money.<ref name=passeri/> Cousin decided to leave Rome. He traveled to [Loreto](/source/Loreto_(Italy)), where he made a painting for the high altar of the church of Santa Margherita, and then to [Pesaro](/source/Pesaro), where he worked in the cathedral. Finally he moved to [Venice](/source/Venice), where he painted several portraits.

He returned to Rome a few years before the death of Pope [Innocent X](/source/Innocent_X) in 1655. He was the first artist who painted a portrait of his successor [Alexander VII](/source/Alexander_VII) following his election.<ref name=passeri/>

After spending more than thirty years in Rome, he returned to Brussels. He became a member of the local [Guild of Saint Luke](/source/Guild_of_Saint_Luke) in 1661.<ref name=ox/> He continued to paint portraits and historical themes, and also made designs (cartons) for [tapestries](/source/tapestry) that were then manufactured by local [weavers](/source/weaving). Through his involvement in the manufacture of tapestries, he was exempt from taxes.<ref name=passeri/>

His work was popular with the [Habsburg](/source/House_of_Habsburg) princes from whom he received numerous commissions. For the Spanish king he made a few cartons for tapestries and a large painting entitled ''Venus Lamenting the Death of Adonis'' (around 1656–1557).<ref>[http://www.khm.at/de/object/f3f27a3247/ ''Venus Lamenting the Death of Adonis''] in the [Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien](/source/Kunsthistorisches_Museum_Wien)</ref> He painted a number of paintings for [Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria](/source/Archduke_Leopold_Wilhelm_of_Austria) and made for the Austrian emperor some portraits of the emperor.<ref name=passeri/>
 
According to Passeri he left little money after his death because he was fond of entertainment and thus liberally spent the money he earned.<ref name=passeri/>

He had a number of students, including [Jan van Cleef](/source/Jan_Van_Cleef).<ref name=ox/>

==Work==
Louis Cousin painted mythological subjects and religious works<ref name=ox/> and was also very appreciated as a portrait painter.<ref name=treccani/> The style of Cousin is situated halfway between the Italian and Flemish traditions and is a typical example of the lofty, somewhat tediously decorative style of the High Baroque.<ref name=ga/><ref name=ox/>
thumb|290px|''Guillermo Ramón Moncada visiting the King of Aragon possibly Charles''

Some of the altarpieces he painted between 1633 and 1657 for churches in Rome are still ''in situ'' (e.g. Virgin Presenting the Child to St Anthony of Padua, 1655, [San Marco, Rome](/source/San_Marco%2C_Rome)).<ref name=ox/>

According to some sources say Cousin painted between 1646 and 1652 27 small devotional paintings on copper for Pope Innocent X.<ref name=had/> The small panels that were greatly admired by his contemporaries are, however, lost.<ref name=treccani>[http://www.treccani.it/Portale/elements/categoriesItems.jsp?pathFile=/sites/default/BancaDati/Enciclopedia_online/L/BIOGRAFIE_-_EDICOLA_L_140468.xml Biographical details] in Italian Encyclopedia Treccani online</ref> He collaborated on a series of twenty copper panels that narrate the deeds of two Sicilian noble brothers of Spanish origin, Guillermo Ramón Moncada and Antonio Moncada. Of twelve scenes devoted to the former, Luigi Primo painted five, [Willem van Herp](/source/Willem_van_Herp) six and [Adam Frans van der Meulen](/source/Adam_Frans_van_der_Meulen) one.  [Jan van Kessel the Elder](/source/Jan_van_Kessel_the_Elder), an artist specialised in still lifes with flowers, insects and animals, executed the decorative borders that frame the various episodes.<ref>[http://www.museothyssen.org/en/thyssen/ficha_obra/858 David Teniers II and Jan van Kessel I, ''The Submission of the Sicilian Rebels to Antonio de Moncada in 1411''] at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection</ref>

==Note ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons-inline}}

{{Authority control (arts)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primo, Louis}}
Category:Flemish Baroque painters
Category:Flemish portrait painters
Category:Flemish history painters
Category:Italian Baroque painters
Category:Painters from Brussels
Category:17th-century Italian painters
Category:Italian male painters
Category:Members of the Bentvueghels
Category:1600s births
Category:1667 deaths

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Luigi Primo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Primo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Primo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.