He was the second son of Sisto Nuzzi, a landowner from
Penna San Giovanni, and his wife Faustina Salini, sister of the
still-life painter
Tommaso Salini. In 1618, his father took the family back to Penna, where they engaged in
floriculture and Mario amused himself by painting the flowers. This led, in 1620, to an apprenticeship in the workshop of his uncle Tommaso. Mario remained there until 1625, when his uncle died. While there, he was influenced by the works of
Caravaggio, who had been one of his uncle's associates. In 1628, he married Ortensia de Curtis, from a family of English origin. They had one son. In 1646, he was elected a member of the
Congregazione dei Virtuosi al Pantheon. In 1648, he became a widower. Two years later, he married Susanna Passeri. Curiously, his marriage certificate gives his name as "de' Fiori". From 1651 to 1667, they had six children. In 1657, he was finally accepted as a member of the
Accademia di San Luca. After 1658, he did decorative work for Cardinal
Flavio Chigi; painting flowers on mirrors and
basanite columns. He also collaborated with other artists to paint flowers with figures at the
Palazzo Chigi in
Ariccia. These paintings represent the Four Seasons and each artist was assigned to assist with one of them:
Filippo Lauri (Spring),
Carlo Maratti (Summer),
Giacinto Brandi (Fall) and
Bernardino Mei (Winter). They painted the figures and Nuzzi provided the flowers. Such projects made him increasingly famous and wealthy. He died in 1673, at the age of seventy, and was interred at the Basilica of
San Lorenzo in Lucina. == Gallery ==