The New International Encyclopædia/Batoni, Pompeo Girolamo

BATONI, bȧ-tō′nē̇, or BATTONI, Pompeo Girolamo (1708-1787). An Italian painter, born at Lucca. He sought to counteract the mannerism prevalent in his day by reviving the style of Raphael and the earlier classicists. He was the greatest painter of Italy during the middle of the Eighteenth Century, and completed in all about 40 notable works, which are scattered throughout the principal art galleries of Europe. Among the most important of these are: Portraits of the Popes Benedict XIV., Clement XIII., and Pius VI., and of the Emperors Joseph II. and Leopold II.; “Marriage of Saint Catharine” (Quirinal, Rome); “Achilles” (Uffizi, Florence); “Choice of Hercules” (Turin Gallery); “Madonna” (Louvre, Paris); “Magdalen,” “John the Baptist,” and “The Fine Arts” (Dresden Gallery); “Marriage of Cupid and Psyche” (Berlin Museum). His “Magdalen” is universally considered his masterpiece.