WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Alessandro Magnasco

Alessandro Magnasco

Alessandro Magnasco

Republic Of Genoa, 1667–1749

WA-00023093

Genoa

PaintingBaroque

Representation

None documented

0

Institutional Exhibitions

27

Works in Collection

29

Assets Indexed

1

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

WikidataQ516941

Field Verification (1 fields)

1 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Is PublishedManual· 100%✓

Source Registry (1)

Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q516941
Tier 1 · Institutional40%

About

Why this artist matters now

Alessandro Magnasco was a Genoese painter of the 18th century known for dramatic, loosely handled scenes of monks, nuns, beggars, and landscapes rendered in dark, atmospheric tones. His technique employed rapid brushwork and chiaroscuro to create a sense of movement and psychological intensity across religious and secular subjects. Active primarily in Genoa and Venice, Magnasco developed a distinctive approach to figural composition that influenced Venetian painting in the decades following his death in 1749.

Source: Wikidata · Trust score: 40% · Updated 8d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Baroque

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum National Gallery of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (27)

The Choristers

1740 · oil on canvas

overall: 68 x 54.5 cm (26 3/4 x 21 7/16 in.) framed: 91.4 x 78.1 cm (36 x 30 3/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Christ at the Sea of Galilee

Christ at the Sea of Galilee

1740 · oil on canvas

overall: 118.1 x 146.7 cm (46 1/2 x 57 3/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art

The Baptism of Christ

The Baptism of Christ

1740 · oil on canvas

overall: 117.5 x 146.7 cm (46 1/4 x 57 3/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art

The Synagogue

1725 · Oil on canvas

119.4 × 149.8 cm (47 × 58 15/16 in.); Framed: 132.8 × 163.4 × 12.1 cm (52 1/4 × 64 3/8 × 4 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Baptism of Christ

The Baptism of Christ

1720 · brown wash over black chalk, heightened with white gouache, on buff laid paper

sheet: 30.6 × 22.2 cm (12 1/16 × 8 3/4 in.) mount: 32.9 × 22.9 cm (12 15/16 × 9 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Picaresque Group with a Monkey and a Magpie

Picaresque Group with a Monkey and a Magpie

1720 · Brush and brown gouache and brush and brown wash, with touches of red and brown chalk, heightened with white chalk, over black chalk, on blue laid paper (discolored to pale brownish-gray)

47.8 × 37.2 cm (18 7/8 × 14 11/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Ballad Singer at a Shrine of the Virgin

Ballad Singer at a Shrine of the Virgin

1720 · Brush and brown gouache and brush and brown wash, with traces of brown chalk, heightened with white chalk, over black chalk, on blue laid paper (discolored to pale brownish-gray)

46.6 × 37 cm (18 3/8 × 14 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Raising of Lazarus

The Raising of Lazarus

1715 · oil paint (paint), canvas

width: 83.5 cm, height: 65.5 cm, depth: 6.7 cm

Massacre of the Innocents

Massacre of the Innocents

1715 · oil paint (paint), canvas

width: 83.5 cm, depth: 6.5 cm, height: 65.5 cm

Monks at Supper

Monks at Supper

1715 · Oil on canvas

68 × 82 cm (26 3/4 × 32 1/4 in.); Framed: 76.2 × 87 × 6.4 cm (30 × 34 1/4 × 2 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

A Penitent at a Quaker Sermon

A Penitent at a Quaker Sermon

1712 · brush and brown wash with white heightening on paper washed gray brown

sheet: 32.5 × 24.1 cm (12 13/16 × 9 1/2 in.) framed: 62.23 × 46.99 cm (24 1/2 × 18 1/2 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Three Camaldolese Monks in Meditative Prayer

Three Camaldolese Monks in Meditative Prayer

1710 · oil paint (paint), canvas

thickness: 3.8 cm, depth: 5.4 cm, height: 54.5 cm, width: 39 cm

Three Camaldolese Monks in Ecstatic Prayer

Three Camaldolese Monks in Ecstatic Prayer

1710 · canvas, oil paint (paint)

height: 54.4 cm, depth: 5.4 cm, thickness: 3.3 cm, width: 39 cm

The Tame Magpie

1707 · Oil on canvas

25 x 29 1/2 in. (63.5 x 74.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Standing Pilgrim Friar

Standing Pilgrim Friar

1700 · Brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, on light tan paper

sheet: 8 3/4 x 5 13/16 in. (22.3 x 14.8 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Landscape with Saint Bruno ?

Landscape with Saint Bruno ?

1700 · canvas, oil paint (paint)

width: 74.6 cm, depth: 4.8 cm, height: 98.7 cm, thickness: 3.5 cm

Carthusian Monks in a Landscape

Carthusian Monks in a Landscape

1700 · canvas, oil paint (paint)

width: 75.1 cm, depth: 5.2 cm, thickness: 3.8 cm, height: 99.3 cm

Theodosius Repulsed from the Church by Saint Ambrose

Theodosius Repulsed from the Church by Saint Ambrose

1700 · Oil on canvas

155.3 × 213.5 cm (61 1/8 × 84 1/16 in.); Framed: 189.9 × 248.3 cm (74 3/4 × 97 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

1700 · Oil on canvas

20 1/8 x 28 3/8 in. (51.1 x 72.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Standing Pilgrim Friar.

1700 · Brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, on light tan paper

sheet: 8 3/4 x 5 13/16 in. (22.3 x 14.8 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Arcadian Landscape with Figures

Arcadian Landscape with Figures

1695 · Oil on canvas

72.8 × 96 cm (28 5/8 × 37 13/16 in.); Framed: 94.9 × 118.5 × 8.9 cm (37 3/8 × 46 5/8 × 3 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Study Sheet with Seated Figures

Study Sheet with Seated Figures

1687 · Brush and brown ink and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, with touches of black chalk, on tan laid paper with brown fibers, laid down on off-white laid paper

29.6 × 42.5 cm (11 11/16 × 16 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Return of the Prodigal Son

Return of the Prodigal Son

1687 · Black chalk heightened with touches of white chalk on brown tinted laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper

16.5 × 23 cm (6 1/2 × 9 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Elijah Visited by an Angel in the Wilderness (1 Kings 19:4-8)

1687 · Brush and brown wash, highlighted with white, over traces of black chalk, on light brown paper

10 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. (26.3 x 22.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View all 27 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

27 published of 27 catalogued · 22 with image

Art Institute Chicago
9 published9 img
Rijksmuseum
6 published6 img
Nga
6 published6 img
The Met
6 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 6)

6 entries · 1 sources

Three Camaldolese Monks in Meditative Prayer
1710 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Carthusian Monks in a Landscape
1700 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Landscape with Saint Bruno ?
1700 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Three Camaldolese Monks in Ecstatic Prayer
1710 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Raising of Lazarus
1715 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Massacre of the Innocents
1715 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Theodosius Repulsed from the Church by Saint Ambrose (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Theodosius Repulsed from the Church by Saint Ambrose (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

5

Movements1

Collections4

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum National Gallery of Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Rijksmuseum

In collection

National Gallery of Art

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet