Federiko Benković

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Federiko Benković (1667-1753) was a prominent late Baroque painter. He is best known as Federico Bencovich or Federico Bencovic, but also as Federigo or Federighetto or Dalmatino.

Born from a Croatian family, he is also known as 'Federico or Federigo Bencovich'. His birthplace is unknown, either in Omiš, Šibenik, the island Brač, Ragusa (Dubrovnik), or possibly Venice itself.

Hi initial training was likely in Venice, but later Benković apprenticed with Carlo Cignani in Bologna, helping him in 1706 to paint an Assumption of the the Virgin on the dome of the Forlì cathedral. His first independent work, Juno on the clouds, was painted in 1705. He also appears to have worked in the studio of Giuseppe Maria Crespi.

In 1710 Benković painted the altarpiece of St. Andrew on the cross surrounded by St. Bartholomew, St. Carolus Borromei, St. Lucia, and St. Apollonia for the church of Madonna del Piombo in Bologna, later transferred to the parish church Senonches near Chartres in France. By 1715, he came to the service of Prince Lothar Franz Schönborn and was to complete four large canvas masterpieces for the gallery in the castle of Pommersfeldern: Apollo and Marcia, Hagar and Ishmael in the desert, Iphigenia’s sacrifice and Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac.

The dramatic, often tortured, poses and lighting of the figures are placed within earthy tenebrist backgrounds, He uses the Piazzetta's and Sebastiano Ricci's unfinished and ragged brushstrokes, but superimposes a startling mystical imprint to a Venetian brilliance.

Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac ^[1], is probably the painting that disappeared from the castle of Pommersfelden at the beginning of the 19th century. Until that time, the painting was attributed to Piazzetta.

After his death, Benković gradually fell into oblivion. His paintings used to be attributed to Piazzetta, Cignani, amongst others.

1. ^ Now in the Strossmayer gallery in Croatia, after they bought the painting at a London auction in 1936.