Ansaldo, G Andrea

Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo was an Italian painter active mainly in Genoa. He was born in Voltri, now part of the comune'' of Genoa, the son of a merchant. He trained under Orazio Cambiaso and possibly collaborated with Bernardo Strozzi. Two of his pupils were Giuseppe Badaracco and Bartolomeo Bassi. Ansaldo''s works are typical of the Genoese eclecticism of the early 17th century, influenced by Flemish artists such as Rubens and Anton Van Dyck and the Milanese Giovanni Battista Crespi, Giulio Cesare Procaccini and il Morazzone. Ansaldo is responsible for the fresco decoration of the cupola of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato of Genova, completed during 1635-1638, just before his death. His Annunciation fresco is considered the first true Baroque painting in the city. Through a complex trompe-l''oeil view, it reproduces the interior of a Greek Cross planned church, with Mary ascending to heaven being awaited by the Holy Father in the centre of the dome. Altarpieces from Ansaldo were commissioned for the Cathedral of Segovia. A Deposition is presently housed in the Accademia Linguistica of Genoa. He died in Genoa and was probably buried in the same Annunziata church.