A painter of the Lombard school. Born in Milan around 1690, died in Parma in 1760 (?). Frequently, but erroneously called Jacopo. He was the son of the Lombard painter Angelo Maria Crivelli, who was active mainly in Milan and specialised in still lifes and paintings of animals. It would appear that from about 1721 onwards Giovanni Crivelli collaborated with Felice Boselli (1650–1732); this painter, who came from Piacenza but worked in Parma, was famous for still lifes and animal pieces. Giovanni Crivelli adopted his teacher’s style of painting with broad and light strokes of the brush, but his compositions also show that he was familiar with Flemish models, especially the work of the early 17th century Antwerp school. We recognise Giovanni Crivelli’s work above all by comparison with a large signed painting on canvas which shows a Dovecote and which was once in the Pietro Accorsi collection in Turin.
Lit.: Settecento, Vol. I-II, Milano 1990 (biogr. Vittorio Caprara); Settecento lombardo, Editor Rosana Bossaglia & Valerio Terrarofi, Milano 1991, pp. 250-251 (biogr. Anna Maria Bianchi) [ex. cat.].