Antonio Tempesta

Who was Antonio Tempesta?

Antonio Tempesta was an Italian painter and engraver, a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. He was born and trained in 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 in 1576, and was a pupil of Santi di Tito, then of the Flemish painter Joannes Stradanus. He is now best known as a printmaker in etching and engraving. Among his followers was Marzio di Colantonio.

He was part of the large set of artists working under Giorgio Vasari on the interior decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio.

His favorite subjects were battles, cavalcades, and processions. He relocated to Rome, where he associated with artists from the Netherlands, which may have led to his facility with landscape painting.