Italian Rococo Era Painter, 1667-1749 Painter and draughtsman, son of (1) Stefano Magnasco. He did not study with his father, who died when he was a small child. He went to Milan, probably between 1681 and 1682, and entered the workshop of Filippo Abbiati (1640-1715). His Christ Carrying the Cross (Vitali, priv. col., see Franchini Guelfi, 1987, fig. 238) faithfully repeats the subject and composition of Abbiati's painting of the same subject (Pavia, Pin. Malaspina). Alessandro Magnasco's early works were influenced by the harsh and dramatic art of 17th-century Lombardy, with dramatic contrasts of light and dark and livid, earthy tones, far removed from the bright, glowing colours of contemporary Genoese painting. The depiction of extreme emotion in the St Francis in Ecstasy (Genoa, Gal. Pal. Bianco) was inspired by Francesco Cairo's Dream of Elijah (Milan, S Antonio Abate). However, Magnasco was already expressing himself in a very personal manner, with forms fragmented by swift brushstrokes and darting flashes of light. The Quaker Meeting (1695; ex-Vigan? priv. col., see Franchini Guelfi, 1991, no. 18) is one of his first genre scenes. In this early period he specialized as a figurista, creating small human figures to be inserted in the landscapes and architectural settings of other painters. He also began collaborating with the landscape painter Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, with a specialist in perspective effects,   Related Paintings of MAGNASCO, Alessandro :. | Sacreligious Robbery | Christ Served by Angels | THe Gypsies'Wedding Feast (mk05) | Bandits'Stopping-place | Seascape with Fishermen and Bathers |
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john florio
known in Italian as Giovanni Florio, was an accomplished linguist and lexicographer, a royal language tutor at the Court of James I, a probable close friend and influence on William Shakespeare. He was also the translator of Montaigne.
Pieter Vanderlyn
Dutch-born American Colonial Era Painter, ca.1687-1778 American colonial painter, b. Holland. He reached New York c.1718 and became a portrait painter and land speculator and practiced other trades, settling in Kingston, N.Y. The portrait most certainly ascribed to him is that of Mrs. Petrus Vas, his mother-in-law. John Vanderlyn was his grandson.
Stefano della Bella
Italian Baroque Era Printmaker, 1610-1664,was an Italian printmaker known for etchings of many subjects, including military ones. He was born at Florence, and apprenticed initially to a goldsmith, but became an engraver working under Orazio Vanni and then Cesare Dandini. He studied etching under Remigio Cantagallina, who had also been the instructor of Jacques Callot, who had lived in Florence 1612-1621, and whose prints imparted a strong influence to printmakers. The patronage of Don Lorenzo de Medici enabled della Bella to study for three years in Rome. In Rome, he created a then admired print of the cavalcade celebrating the entry of the Polish ambassador into Rome in 1633. He also created a number of prints of views of Rome. In 1642 he went to Paris, introduced by the Tuscan ambassador, Alessandro del Nero, and where he resided for seven years. Cardinal Richelieu engaged him to go to Arras and make drawings of the siege and taking of that town by the royal army. After residing a considerable time at Paris he returned to Florence, where he obtained a pension from the grand duke, whose son, Cosimo de Medici, he instructed in drawing. His productions were very numerous, amounting to over 1000 separate pieces. He is known to have illustrated some discoveries for Galileo. See entry for Hansken for his etching of the famous elephant after death. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stefano della Bella