Giuseppe Badaracco
Giuseppe Badaracco (1588–1657), also called “Il Sordo” (the Deaf), was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Genoa, in Liguria and in the island of Corsica. Born in Genoa into well-to-do family, he first studied classic literature, but moved into an apprenticeship with the painter Bernardo Strozzi, then Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo. He worked for some years in Florence, where he copied many of the works of Andrea del Sarto. Returning to Genoa (about 1625), he painted mainly for private customers. He worked also in Corsica (at that time part of the Republic of  Genoa), where he painted locally influential paintings for some churches around Bastia. He died in 1657 from the plague that swept through Genoa. He fathered four sons; among them Giovanni Raffaele (1648–1717), who was also his pupil, became a notable painter. Works. The last two paintings are interesting also from the historical point of view, as they show on the background two different views of Borghetto Santo Spirito in the 17th century.