Giovanni Battista Mercati (1591–1645) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

painter and engraver, active in a

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 ...

style.

Biography

He was born in

Borgo San Sepolcro Sansepolcro, formerly Borgo Santo Sepolcro, is a town and ''comune'' founded in the 11th century, located in the Italian Province of Arezzo in the eastern part of the region of Tuscany. Situated on the upper reaches of the Tiber river, the town i ...

, in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, but was also active in

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, ...

. He is best known from his engravings, many made after other artists including

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

, Annibale Carraci, and other masters. He painted several altarpieces and frescoes in Sansepolcro, including two frescos on the ''Life of the Virgin'' for the church of Santa Chiara, and an altar-piece in

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

. He also has paintings in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

and

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History Prehistory The ol ...

. Among his engravings are: *Four antique figures from the

Arch of Constantine The Arch of Constantine () is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312 ...

, in the style of

Giovanni Battista Gallestruzzi Giovanni Battista Galestruzzi (1618–1677) was an Italian painter and etcher of the Baroque period. Born in Florence, he was a pupil of the painter Francesco Furini, then moved to Rome, where he joined the Accademia di San Luca in 1652. He was ...

. *''The Marriage of St. Catherine''; after

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

. *''St Bibiana refusing to sacrifice to false Gods''; (1626) after a fresco in Santa Bibiana by Pietro da Cortona. One interesting set of engravings are his depictions of some of the extant Ancient Roman ruins in Rome, collected in an edition of about fifty-two plates, title
''Alcune vedute et prospettive di luoghi dishabitati di Roma''
(1629) with introduction by Salvatore Settis, engraved in the manner of

Israel Silvestre Israel Silvestre (13 August 1621 in Nancy – 11 October 1691 in Paris), called the Younger to distinguish him from his father, was a prolific French draftsman, etcher and print dealer who specialized in topographical views and perspectives ...

. The series is not a scientific depiction, but does capture some views at a time when kilns and sites were still actively dismantling the remains of ancient edifices. The prints may have influenced

Vasi The visual approach slope indicator (VASI) is a system of lights on the side of an airport runway threshold that provides visual descent guidance information during final approach. These lights may be visible from up to during the day and up t ...

and later Piranesi. Some of the views, however border on being fanciful capricci. Among his engravings are: *Title (with Medici Arms) and Dedication Pages *Plate 3:

Sant'Agnese in Agone Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona) is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christ ...

*Plates 4-5: Temple of Minerva Medica near

Santa Bibiana Santa Bibiana is a small Baroque style, Roman Catholic church in Rome devoted to Saint Bibiana. The church façade was designed and built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who also produced a sculpture of the saint holding the palm leaf of martyrs. History ...

*Plate 6: ''I trofei di Mario'' ( Trophies of Marius) *Plates 7 -10:

Baths of Diocletian The Baths of Diocletian (Latin: ''Thermae Diocletiani'', Italian: ''Terme di Diocleziano'') were public baths in ancient Rome. Named after emperor Diocletian and built from AD 298 to 306, they were the largest of the imperial baths. The project w ...

*Plates 11-12: Below

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. The church is on the Oppian Hill near Cavour metro station, a short distance from the Colosseum. The name alludes to the Bibl ...

*Plate 13:

Veduta A ''veduta'' (; : ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, old master print, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre of land ...

from the Amphitheater towards San Stefano Rotondo) *Plates 14-15: Near the Navicella Fountain *Plate 16: From

Suburra The Suburra, or ''Subura'' (from the latin ''Subura'') was a vast and populous neighborhood of Ancient Rome, located below the '' Murus Terreus'' on the '' Carinae'' and stretching on the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal hills up to the offs ...

Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

from the Piazza degli Zingari *Plates 17-18: Camp Vaccino (

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

) *Plate 19: Towards

Santa Maria della Consolazione The Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione is a Roman Catholic baroque style church at the foot of the Palatine Hill in rione Campitelli, Rome, Italy. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Consolati ...

*Plate 20: Temple of Peace *Plate 21: Depiction of Santa Maria NovaSanta Francesca Romana, Rome with remains of

Temple of Venus and Roma The Temple of Venus and Roma (Latin: ''Aedes Veneris et Romae'') is thought to have been the largest Roman temple, temple in Ancient Rome. Located on the Velian Hill, between the eastern edge of the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum, it was dedicat ...

*Plate 22: Below Santi Giovanni e Paolo *Plate 23: Trajan’s Column *Plate 24: Antonine Column *Plate 25: Palazzo Madama *Plate 26: Cortille del Cardinal di Fiorenza Leone XI (Courtyard of the Cardinal of Florence Leo XI) *Plate 27: Temple del Sole d’Oreliano (

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

Temple of the

Sol Invictus Sol Invictus (, "Invincible Sun" or "Unconquered Sun") was the official Solar deity, sun god of the late Roman Empire and a later version of the god Sol (Roman mythology), Sol. The emperor Aurelian revived his cult in 274 AD and promoted Sol Inv ...

) *Plate 28 Porta di Cavalleggieri *Plate 29

Castel Sant’Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

*Plate 30 A St. Giorgio doux pagatano i Soldati Romani (At San Giorgio, Where They Paid the Roman Soldiers) *Plate 31: Below Santa Sabina *Plate 32: ''Ponto resto di Santa Maria'' (Remains of the Santa Maria Bridge or Ponte Rotto) *Plates 33-34, 36-39: ''Pallazo Maggiore'' (Ruins of Imperial Palace on

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the ...

) *Plate 35: Piazza che va a Scola greca (Piazza That Goes to the Greek School) *Plates 40- 45: ''Terme Antoniana'' ( Antonine Baths) *Plates 46-50:

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

*Plate 51: ''Fuori del Popolo a Mano Manco'' (Outside the

Porta del Popolo The Porta del Popolo, or Porta Flaminia, is a city gate of the Aurelian Walls of Rome that marks the border between Piazza del Popolo and Piazzale Flaminio. History The previous name was ''Porta Flaminia'', because the consular Via Flaminia p ...

to the Tiber River *Plate 52 ''Sepulcrum M. Mallorum Chiamato Capo di Bove'' (

Tomb of Caecilia Metella The Tomb of Caecilia Metella (Italian: ''Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella'') is a mausoleum located just outside Rome at the three mile marker of the Via Appia. It was built during the 1st century BC to honor Caecilia Metella, who was the daughter of ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercati, Giovanni Battista 1591 births 1645 deaths People from Sansepolcro Italian engravers Italian vedutisti 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters