SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Giovanni Battista Paggi

The Genoese painter Giovanni Battista Paggi, born in 1554 and deceased in 1627, developed his career between Florence and Genoa. He returned to settle in Genoa at the end of the 16th century and later taught numerous artists there. After leaving Genoa in 1579, he took refuge first in Aulla sul Magra and then in Pisa. An encounter with the Princess of Piombino opened the doors of the court of Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici to him. In Florence, he studied Tuscan art, notably with Giambologna, Domenico Cresti, Jacopo Chimenti and Lodovico Cigoli. During this Florentine period, he produced works for Lucca, Pescia and Pisa on behalf of the grand duke’s secretary.

The biographical source also presents him as an advocate of artists’ ability to work outside the obligations imposed by guilds. From 1590, Paggi renewed contact with his home city and stayed there briefly as a guest of the Doria, for whom he executed works. The family contributed to his definitive return to Genoa in 1599; he later became an important teacher to numerous artists there.

The listed works span several stages of his career: the Art Institute of Chicago attributes Monk Giving Last Communion (1575/85), David with Goliath’s Head and Sword (1587) and Presentation of the Body of Saint Antoninus of Florence (1589/90) to Paggi. La flagellazione di Cristo, dated 1591, is held at the Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola in Genoa. Other cited works include Le Mariage mystique de sainte Catherine d’Alexandrie, an oil on canvas dated to around 1600–1605 and held at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier; the frescoes of the Miracle de sainte Catherine in the great cloister of Santa Maria Novella in Florence; and Le Martyre de sainte Ursule et des vierges in Savona Cathedral. A Transfiguration dated 1596 is also recorded at the Basilica of San Marco in Florence.

This profile brings together identity references for Giovanni Battista Paggi and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

1 references are documented at Koller. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.

Works recorded at auction

Koller

Study of an antique head.

Pen and brown ink, brown wash

Date to be documented

Published result : 1500 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 1200–1800

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Sources and references

• Reference record
• AGORHA · Reference link only; no institutional text or image copied.
• ARTIC · Reference link only; institutional text and images are not reproduced.
• CULTURAITALIA-ICCU · CC-BY-SA; ICCU CulturaItalia
• ICCD-ArCo · CC-BY-4.0; Ministero della Cultura / ICCD-ArCo
• ICCD-ArCo · CC-BY-4.0; Ministero della Cultura / ICCD-ArCo. Reference link only; no image copied.
• LoC · Reference link only; institutional text and images are not reproduced.
• Documentary source
• Documentary source

SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19