Antonio Tempesta, also called il Tempestino (1555 – 5 August 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art acted as a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Much of his work depicts major battles and historical figures.

Life

He was born and trained in

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 ...

and painted in a variety of styles, influenced to some degree by "Counter-''Maniera''" or Counter-Mannerism. He enrolled in the Florentine

Accademia delle Arti del Disegno The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") is an academy of artists in Florence, in Italy. It was founded on 13 January 1563 by Cosimo I de' Medici, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. It was initially known as ...

in 1576. He was a pupil of Santi di Tito, then of the Flemish painter Joannes Stradanus. He was part of the large team of artists working under

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

on the interior decoration of the

Palazzo Vecchio The ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the , which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the ''Palazzo della Signoria'', a ...

. His favourite subjects were battles, cavalcades, and processions. He relocated to Rome, where he associated with artists from the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

, which may have led to his facility with

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

. Among his followers was Marzio di Colantonio.

Commissions

Tempesta and the Flemish painter Matthijs Bril were commissioned by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

to paint wide panoramas of the ''Procession to Transfer the Relics of St. Gregory of Nazianzus'' (1572) for the

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

s on the third floor of the

Vatican Palace The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the build ...

. He completed frescoes in the Palazzina Gambara at the

Villa Lante Villa Lante is a Mannerism, Mannerist garden of surprise in Bagnaia, Viterbo, Bagnaia, Viterbo, central Italy, attributed to Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola. Villa Lante did not become well known until it passed to Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rov ...

in Bagnaia (1578-1609). From 1579–83, Tempesta participated in the decoration of the Villa Farnese in

Caprarola Caprarola is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The village is situated in a range of volcanic hills known as the Cimini Mounts. The town is home to the large Renaissance mansion or villa ...

, notably of this villa's Scala Regia. He is also known to have collaborated on

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es in the

Villa d'Este The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, Lazio, Tivoli, near Rome. It is a masterpiece of Italian architecture and garden design, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and the ingenuity of its architectural featu ...

at Tivoli and the Palazzina Gamara at

, Bagnaia. He painted a series of turbulent and crowded battle scenes for the Medici. He also completed a series of engravings on outdoor courtly hunting scenes. Tempesta painted frescoes for the Palazzos Colonna, the Doria Pamphilj, and for the Marchese Giustiniani in his Roman palace, where Tempesta collaborated with

Paul Bril Paul Bril (1554 – 7 October 1626) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and printmaker principally known for his Landscape art, landscapes.Nicola Courtright. "Paul Bril." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. ...

, and at Bassano di Sutri.M.V. Brugnoli, "I primi affreschi nel palazzo Bassano di Sutro", ''Bollettinon d'arte'' (1957:241-54. He painted a ''

Massacre of the Innocents The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents is a story recounted in the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew ( 2:16– 18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and u ...

'' for the church of Santo Stefano Rotondo in Rome. Tempesta is now best known as a

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

and engraving. He also left numerous etchings, among them: ''Plates from the Old Testament''; twenty-four plates from the ''Life of St. Anthony''; a set of 150 prints from ''

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

’s

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''; 13 plates on ''The

Labours of Hercules The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles (, , ) are a series of tasks carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished in the service of King Eurystheus. The ep ...

'' and four plates on respectively ''The ages of man''; ''The entry of

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

into Babylon''; ''Diana and Actaon'', and '' The crucifixion'' (1612). In 1612 he engraved a series of plates under the title "Batavorum cum Romanis Bellum" after designs of the

Netherlandish The Low Countries comprise the coastal Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta region in Western Europe, whose definition usually includes the modern countries of Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of Northern France. Both Belgium and the ...

artist

Otto van Veen Otto van Veen (also known by his Latinized names Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius; 1556 – 6 May 1629), was a Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, and Humanism, humanist active primarily in Antwerp and City of Brussels, Brussels in the late ...

, also known as Vaenius (1556-1629) and court painter to Alessandro Farnese. Van Veen was influenced by the Italian mannerists but had developed his own style anticipating the Flemish baroque of his pupil

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

. The series consists of 36 numbered engraved plates and illustrates the armed struggle between the ancient Dutch tribes and their Roman oppressors as narrated in

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

' Histories. Each plate bears at the bottom an engraved legend in Flemish and in Latin while a detailed explanation is printed on the otherwise blank verso. Plate I, signed 'Ant.Tempesta f. Anno 1611', shows 'Roma' and ' Batavia' in battle dress with respective scenic backgrounds, symbolizing the two nations. Fifteen other plates bear Tempesta's monogram. The plates depict heroic events, sieges, and battle scenes. This historicist work was very popular in its time. Tempesta also drew many designs for tapestries.

Gallery

File:Antonio Tempesta (attr) Schlachtenbild.jpg, Schlachtenbild File:Painting depicting the arrival of Christine of France to Turin in 1619 by Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630).jpg, 16th c. painting by Tempesta File:Antonio tempesta, condannato a morte salvato dall'annuinziata, 1614-19.jpg, Condannato a morte salvato dall'Annunziata File:The Egyptians Drowning in the Red Sea by Antonio Tempesta.jpg, Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea File:Antonio tempesta, scena di battaglia.jpg, Scena di battaglia File:Antonio tempesta, miracolo del soldato caduto e salvato.jpg, Miracolo del soldato caduto e salvato File:Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630) - Nero (AD 37–68), Roman Emperor - 515498 - National Trust.jpg, Depiction of Nero File:Julius Caesar, Roman Emperor.png, Roman emperor File:A. Tempesta Cerialis 1612.jpg, Cerialis in 1612 File:Tempesta Gerusalemme Liberata3.jpg, Gerusalemme Liberata 3 File:Tempesta Gerusalemme Liberata8.jpg, Gerusalemme Liberata 8 File:Tempesta Gerusalemme Liberata13.jpg, Gerusalemme Liberata 13 File:Tempesta Gerusalemme Liberata17.jpg, Gerusalemme Liberata 17 File:Tempesta Gerusalemme Liberata18.jpg, Gerusalemme Liberata 18 File:Tempesta Gerusalemme Liberata20.jpg, Gerusalemme Liberata 20 File:Antonio Tempesta - Tereus Philomela Procne.jpg, Tereus Philomela Procne File:Antonio Tempesta - Die Kreuzigung des hl. Petrus - 2344 - Bavarian State Painting Collections.jpg, Die Kreuzigung des hl. Petrus

Notes

References

* Text from

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander IKarel van Mander
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History ...

's ''Schilderboeck'', p. 195: ''Daer is nae mijnen tijdt, oft noch teghenwoordich te Room, een Florentijn, Discipel van Ioan van der straet, oft Stradanus, geheeten Antonio Tempesta, die seer ghepresen wort, hebbende veel dinghen gheteyckent en ghehetst, als Iachten, Batailgen der Amasones: oock Ao. 1593. in platte forme, en in't groote, de Stadt van Room.''
Brief bio of Tempesta from Web Gallery of Art
*Grove Art Dictionary *Eckhard Leuschner, ''Antonio Tempesta. Ein Bahnbrecher des roemischen Barock und seine europaeische Wirkung'', Petersberg 2005 (in German). *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tempesta, Antonio 1555 births 1630 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian Renaissance painters Italian printmakers Italian Roman Catholics Painters from Florence