- NameTommaso Conca
- Activity/Titlepainter, poet
- Sexmale
- Variant namesstavningsvariant: Tomaso Conca
namnvariant: Tommaso Maria Conca
- Nationality/DatesItalian, born 1734-12-22, dead 1822-12-13
- PlacesPlace of birth: Rom, Italien
Place of death: Stockholm, Sweden
BiographyTommaso Conca was first cousin once removed
of the celebrated painter Sebastiano Conca
(1680–1764). Initially Conca was apprenticed for
ten years in Turin to his father Giovanni, who was
also a painter. Between 1748 and 1752 he studied
with Sebastiano in Rome. In 1765 Conca was elected
to the Accademia Clementina in Bologna and
in 1770 to the Accademia di San Luca in Rome.
In the 1770s Conca and his family were tenants of
the Neapolitan government at the Villa Farnesina
in Rome. As supervisor of the pensionati for the
palatine elector and the Accademia Napoletana in
Rome, Conca in time became an important figure
in the education of young artists. He was knighted
in 1790 and served as principe of the Roman
Accademia di San Luca from 1792 to 1795. Conca
was also a member of the Accademia dell’Arcadia,
participating in its activities under the adopted
academy name of Demofilo Emerio. Membership
of this influential academy meant that he came
into contact with important figures and potential
clients like the papal antiquaries Giovanni Battista
and Ennio Quirino Visconti (1722–1784 and
1751–1818, respectively). Due to the influence of
his cousin Sebastiano, a lingering Rococo touch
was always present in Conca’s work, despite his
continual development towards the Neoclassicist
style. He befriended both Anton Raphael Mengs
(1728–1779) and Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787), and
may have collaborated with Mengs in the decoration
of the coffee house at the Villa Albani.
Eventually decoration became Conca’s main professional
concern, and it is largely for his output in
this field that he is remembered today.