Bibiena or Bibbiena, Galli da [key], family of Italian artists of the 17th and 18th cent. Giovanni Maria Galli da Bibiena, 1625–65, studied with Francesco Albani and painted chiefly altarpieces, examples of which are to be seen in the churches of Bologna. His son, Ferdinando Galli Bibiena, 1657–1743, the most renowned of the group, became celebrated throughout Europe for his architectural views and theatrical designs and for his magnificent decorations for public and court festivities. He wrote several treatises on architecture. A master of baroque illusionism, he created an effect of depth by extending the set pieces of his scene designs beyond the proscenium arch. Francesco Galli Bibiena, 1659–1739, brother of Ferdinando, is celebrated chiefly as the designer of great European theaters. Other members of the family include Alessandro Galli Bibiena, 1687–c.1769, son of Ferdinando, a fresco painter and architect; Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, 1696–1756, second son and pupil of Ferdinando and, like him, renowned for his sumptuous decorations, designed principally for the courts and theaters of Vienna, Munich, Dresden, Bayreuth, and Prague; Antonio Galli Bibiena, 1700–1774, third son of Ferdinando, an architect and designer; and Carlo Galli Bibiena, 1728–1787, the son of Giuseppe, a painter and architect employed at many of the European courts.
See A. H. Mayor, The Bibiena Family (1940).
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