The Chigi archives, published by Vincenzo Golzio in 1939, were fundamental in the reconstruction of Michele Pace’s (also called Michelangelo di Campidoglio) work in animal painting. Prior to that date, he had been known strictly for his still lifes, and had fallen into near oblivion since the 18th century. And yet, the aforementioned documents bear witness to a high level of productivity on behalf of Cardinal Flavio Chigi (1641-1693), who commissioned numerous paintings of greyhounds for his residences in and around Rome between 1658 and 1666. Indeed, in 1664-1665, Michele Pace executed a series of four paintings figuring his patron’s greyhounds for the decoration of a room on the ground floor of his Ariccia palace, each piece in situ at one of the cardinal’s various country properties where the latter would satisfy his passion for the hunt. Portraits of Greyhounds, published in 1966 by Italo Faldi, along with other pieces by the artist and his son Giovanni Battista Pace (1650-1699), speak to the painter’s desire to elevate the genre to its highest level.
The precise detail of the Chigi archives provide new and fascinating depth to the life and work of this artist, about whom very little biographical and artistic information exists (even the dates of his birth and death remain unknown). Michele Pace developed a truly singular style in his animal portrait/landscape and still life/landscape combinations, following the naturalism that had already been witnessed in Rome with the work of Michelangelo Cerquozzi (1602-1660). This trend would be further developed over the course of the second half of the 17th century by Abraham Bruegel (1631-1697) and, later on, by Frans Werner Tamm (1658-1724).
