Agostino Mitelli (16 March 1609 – 2 August 1660) was an Italian painter of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period and best known as a fresco painter of

quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective di sotto in sù and quadratura, is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, and other ...

or illusionistic perspectival architectural frameworks. He was born in Battedizzo, near Bologna, and died in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

while working for the court of

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

. He was a pupil of Gabriello Ferrantini (''degli Occhiali'') and Girolamo Curti. He had a long and fruitful collaboration with Michelangelo Colonna in northern and central Italy; Colonna principally executed the figurative elements and Mitelli, the ''quadratura'' framework. Examples of his ''quadratura'' can be found at

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, testifying to the popularity of the style. Colonna and Mitelli even travelled to

, in 1658, to help decorate the Royal Alcazar and the Palace of Buen Retiro. Mitelli died in Madrid. He also published some etchings in a manuscript entitled ''Freggi dell'architettura da Agostino Mitelli''. Through his numerous pupils who spread out through Italy and Europe, Mitelli exerted a strong influence on the 'school' of ''quadratura'' painting. His son

Giuseppe Maria Mitelli Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (1634–1718) was an Italian engraver and painter of the Baroque period. He was the son of the prominent quadratura painter Agostino Mitelli. The younger Mitelli was best known for his prolific engravings, in a great variety ...

(1634–1718) was also a painter and engraver. Two of his daughters married pupils of his; Baldassare Bianchi was mainly active in Mantua, and

Giacomo Alboresi Giacomo Alboresi (1632–1677) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography Born in Bologna, he was a pupil of Domenico Santi, under whom he worked seventeen years, devoting himself above all to the painting of birds and small figures i ...

was mainly active in Parma and Florence. Giovanni Paderna, Bianchi's first master, had been a follower of Mitelli.

Giovanni Giacomo Monti Giovanni Giacomo Monti (born 1692) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He trained with Agostino Mitelli, the pre-eminent quadratura painter from Bologna. Monti became a colleague of Baldassare Bianchi, Mitelli's son-in-law. This partner ...

, a partner of Bianchi, was Mitelli's pupil.

Giacomo Friani Giacomo () is an Italian given name corresponding to English James. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People bearing the name include: *Giacomo Acerbo (1888–1969), Italian economist and Fascist politician *Giacomo Agostini (b ...

;

Domenico Santi Domenico Santi, also known as il Mengazzino, (1621-1694) was an Italian painter, active in Modena, Mirandola, and Novellara, painting quadratura. Biography He was a pupil of Agostino Mitelli in Bologna. He moved to Mirandola in 1654. Among the pu ...

, known as Mengazzino;

Francesco Quaino Francesco Quaini (1611–1680) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Born in Bologna, he started as a pupil of the renowned quadratura master, Agostino Mitelli. Working together with Marcantonio Franceschini, In Bologna, Francesco painted ...

; and

Andrea Montecelli Andrea Monticelli (1640 - 1716) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was also known as the ''Pittore da San Damiano'' for living and having his studio next to this church in Bologna. Biography He was born in Bologna and learned to pain ...

were also Mitelli's pupils.

References

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External links

* 1609 births 1660 deaths People from the Papal States 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian etchers 17th-century etchers Painters from Bologna Italian Baroque painters Quadratura painters {{Italy-painter-17thC-stub