, commonly known by the name of Mario da* Fiori, a flower-painter, was
, commonly known by the name of Mario da* Fiori, a flower-painter, was born in 1603, at Penna,
in the kingdom of Naples. He was educated under his
uncle Tomaso Salini, and being an exact observer of nature, he employed himself in copying the finest flowers,
by which a dealer made an extraordinary profit in selling
them again. Mario, informed of this circumstance, and
also learning that his performances sold still higher at
Home, resolved to visit that capital. Here he quickly rose
to a high degree of reputation, and applied himself most
diligently to attain perfection in his branch of the art. His
representations of nature were equally exact and elegant;
he chose his subjects with taste, handled his pencil with
wonderful lightness, and coloured with singular beauty;
but, according to Fuseli, “the charm which Mario spread
over his flowers was not a permanent one: the impurity of
the vehicle soon absorbed the freshness and the bloom of
his glazings, and left a squalid surface.
” Hence his pictures did not long maintain the extraordinary prices at
which they were purchased. He was elected a member of
St. Luke, and died in 1673, at the age of seventy.