(b Bologna, 28 April 1688; d 7 Jan 1766). Italian painter. He was trained in the artistic climate of Emilia, as an apprentice to Marcantonio Franceschini and Donato Creti in Bologna and Carlo Cignani in Forlì. After visiting Genoa, Boni was influenced by the painting there, especially that of Lorenzo de’ Ferrari, which contributed to a greater solidity and compositional equilibrium in his own work. In Bologna he belonged to the Accademia Clementina (1720), of which he was appointed director in 1721 and 1723. He was active, both as a painter of pictures for churches and as a decorator. His vast production in Genoa includes the Agony in the Garden and the Deposition in S Maria Maddalena; the fresco Zephyr and Flora (Pal. Bali-Durazzo, now Pal. Reale), painted in collaboration with the quadraturista Tommaso Aldrovandini (1653–1736), which, with its Rococo delicacy, is considered to be one of the painter’s best works; and frescoes in aristocratic homes, such as the Nurture of Jupiter in the Palazzo Podestà. He also painted numerous works outside Genoa: in Rome, the cupola of the Sacrament in St Peter’s (1712), in collaboration with Franceschini; in Bologna, the decoration of the church of the Celestini (with Giacinto Garofalini (1661–1723) and Luca Antonio Bistega (1672–1732)); in Piacenza, the decoration of S Maria del Popolo (1717); in Parma, the decoration of the choir of the church of the Benedictines (1725)—both of the latter works were executed together with Franceschini; and others in Brescia and Milan. In addition he sent works to France and Spain and received commissions from Eugene, Prince of Savoy.

• Boni, Giacomo Antonio
  • Franceschini, Marcantonio
  • Ghisilieri