Find out more about the greatest 16th Century Italian Painters, including Caravaggio, Sandro Botticelli, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Giuseppe Arcimboldo and Artemisia Gentileschi
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Leonardo da Vinci(Italian Polymath & Artist Known for His Paintings: ‘Mona Lisa’, ‘The Last Supper’ and ‘Virgin of the Rocks’)
Birthdate: April 15, 1452
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Anchiano, Italy
Died: May 2, 1519
Widely regarded as one of the greatest painters ever, Leonardo da Vinci was an extremely talented polymath. While his work The Mona Lisa became the most famous portrait, his drawing The Vitruvian Man became a cultural icon. A man well ahead of his time, Leonardo is also known for his notes on science and invention.
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Michelangelo(Regarded as the Most Accomplished Artist of His Era (High Renaissance))
Birthdate: March 6, 1475
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Caprese Michelangelo, Italy
Died: February 18, 1564
Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo was a prominent figure of the High Renaissance. He is credited to have influenced the Western art in unprecedented ways. He is widely regarded as the greatest artist of his age and one of the greatest artists of all time. He was equally revered and respected as an architect.
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Raphael(Italian Painter and Architect of the High Renaissance)
Birthdate: April 6, 1483
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Urbino, Italy
Died: April 6, 1520
Italian painter and architect Raphael, along with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, formed the great trio who ushered in the High Renaissance. He is mostly known for his frescoes of the Vatican Palace and The School of Athens. He also designed the Chigi Chapel, among other structures in Rome.
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Caravaggio(One of the Most Prominent Italian Painters of His Generation)
Birthdate: September 29, 1571
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Died: July 18, 1610
Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is best remembered for his influence on the Baroque style of painting. He pioneered a tactic known as tenebrism, and combined light and darkness to create his masterpieces. He was known for his erratic and aggressive nature and died under mysterious circumstances.
Birthdate: 1445 AD
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: May 17, 1510
Italian painter Sandro Botticelli was one of the most influential figures of the Early Renaissance. His works later influenced the Pre-Raphaelites. He is best known for his iconic works Primavera and The Birth of Venus and his versions of the Madonna and Child. He also painted the Sistine Chapel.
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Titian(One of the Greatest Venetian Artists of the 16th-Century)
Birthdate: 1488 AD
Birthplace: Pieve di Cadore, Italy
Died: August 27, 1576
Trained by Giovanni Bellini as a boy, Titian also joined hands with Giorgione to work on a number of frescoes. The Renaissance artist is regarded as one of the key figures of the Venetian school and is remembered for his masterpieces such as the three miracles of Anthony of Padua.
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Tintoretto(One of the Most Important Artists of the Late Renaissance)
Birthdate: 1518 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: May 31, 1594
Tintoretto, also known as Il Furioso, was a significant painter of the Venetian school and is remembered for his phenomenal speed of painting, his long strokes, and his depiction of humans in motion. His most notable works, such as Susanna in the Bath, embody Renaissance mannerism.
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Benvenuto Cellini(Italian Goldsmith and Sculptor Best Known for His Sculpture 'Cellini Salt Cellar')
Birthdate: November 3, 1500
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: February 13, 1571
Benvenuto Cellini was a 16th-century Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, and artist. The multifaceted artist wrote poetry and a famous autobiography as well. An important figure in Mannerism, he is known for creating pieces, such as the Cellini Salt Cellar and Perseus with the Head of Medusa. He was a member of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence.
Birthdate: 1527 AD
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Died: July 11, 1593
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian painter best remembered for painting human figures, especially portrait heads, without using conventional facial features. His pictures of human heads were often made of objects like vegetables, fruits, flowers, books, and fish. Giuseppe Arcimboldo's works have influenced artists like Salvador Dalí, Shigeo Fukuda, Octavio Ocampo, István Orosz, Sandro del Prete, and Vic Muniz.
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Giorgio Vasari(Artist and Author Best Known for His Biographies of Italian Artists)
Birthdate: July 30, 1511
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Arezzo, Italy
Died: June 27, 1574
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian architect, painter, writer, engineer, and historian. He is best remembered for his work The Lives, a series of artist biographies, which is regarded as the art-historical writing's ideological foundation. Vasari is also credited with the formulation of the term Renaissance as it was first suggested by Jules Michelet based on Giorgio Vasari's text.
Birthdate: 1430 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1516 AD
Giovanni Bellini was an Italian painter who hailed from the famous Bellini family of painters. Giovanni is credited with revolutionizing Venetian painting, shifting it towards a more coloristic and sensuous style. Best remembered for creating paintings with detailed shadings and rich tints, Giovanni's work had a strong influence on the Venetian painting school.
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Paolo Veronese(Italian Painter Who Became Famous for His Extremely Large Paintings of Mythology and Religion)
Birthdate: 1528 AD
Birthplace: Verona, Italy
Died: April 19, 1588
Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter best remembered for his extremely large history paintings of mythology and religion, such as The Feast in the House of Levi and The Wedding at Cana. The leading Venetian painter of ceilings during his time, Paolo Veronese has always been appreciated for the splendor of his brushwork and the chromatic brilliance of his palette.
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Guido Reni(Italian Baroque Painter Who Belonged to the Bolognese School)
Birthdate: November 4, 1575
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: August 18, 1642
Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni was a major figure of the Bolognese School. His subjects were predominantly mythological and religious figures. Initially inspired by Annibale Carracci, he later deviated to lighter colors and free brushwork. His iconic works include the fresco Aurora and the composition Atalanta and Hippomenes.
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Bronzino(Painter)
Birthdate: November 17, 1503
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: November 23, 1572
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Annibale Carracci(Italian Painter Known for His Works: ‘Butcher's Shop’, ‘The Beaneater’ and ‘An Allegory of Truth and Time’)
Birthdate: November 3, 1560
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: July 15, 1609
Born to a tailor, Annibale Carracci set up a painters’ studio named Accademia degli Incamminati with his brother and cousin, thus establishing the famous Carracci family of painters. A significant figure of the Baroque movement, he is remembered for his iconic works such as Domine, Quo Vadis?
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Sofonisba Anguissola(Renaissance painter)
Birthdate: 1532 AD
Birthplace: Cremona, Italy
Died: November 16, 1625
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Salai(Artist)
Birthdate: 1480 AD
Birthplace: Oreno, Vimercate, Italy
Died: January 19, 1524
Italian artist Gian Giacomo Caprotti, better known by his pseudonym, Andrea Salaì, or Salai, had been one of Leonardo da Vinci’s favorite pupils. Also known as the Little Devil, he had entered da Vinci’s home at age 10 and later became his muse for paintings such as Bacchus and also his lover.
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Parmigianino(Painter)
Birthdate: January 11, 1503
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Parma, Italy
Died: August 24, 1540
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Pontormo(Italian Mannerist Painter and Portraitist)
Birthdate: May 24, 1494
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Empoli, Italy
Died: January 2, 1557
Pontormo was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His style was remarkably different from what characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. Orphaned young, he struggled for several years before he was able to establish his painting career. He painted many altarpiece canvases and frescoes, of which only a few survive today.
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Francesco Melzi(Painter)
Birthdate: 1491 AD
Birthplace: Italy
Died: 1570 AD
21
Giambologna(Italian Renaissance Sculptor)
Birthdate: 1529 AD
Birthplace: Douai, France
Died: August 13, 1608
Giambologna was a Flemish sculptor best remembered for his bronze and marble statuary in a Mannerist or late Renaissance style. Among his most important works are Mercury and the Rape of the Sabine Women. He also served as an important influence on other popular sculptors like Pierre Puget, Pietro Tacca, Alessandro Algardi, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
22
Antonio da Correggio(Painter)
Birthdate: August 30, 1489
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Correggio, Italy
Died: March 4, 1534
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Vittore Carpaccio(Former painter best known for a cycle of nine paintings, The Legend of Saint Ursula)
Birthdate: 1465 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1525 AD
24
Agostino Tassi(Painter)
Birthdate: 1578 AD
Birthplace: PePonzano Romano, Italy
Died: February 25, 1644
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Sebastiano del Piombo(Painter)
Birthdate: 1485 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: June 21, 1547
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Lavinia Fontana(Painter)
Birthdate: August 24, 1552
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: August 11, 1614
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Giulio Romano(Architect)
Birthdate: 1499 AD
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Died: November 1, 1546
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Andrea del Sarto(Painter)
Birthdate: July 16, 1486
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: September 29, 1530
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Pinturicchio(Painter, illuminator)
Birthdate: 1454 AD
Birthplace: Perugia
Died: December 11, 1513
30
Lorenzo Lotto(Painter)
Birthdate: 1480 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1557 AD
31
Il Sodoma(Painter)
Birthdate: 1477 AD
Birthplace: Vercelli, Italy
Died: February 14, 1549
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Orazio Gentileschi(Painter)
Birthdate: July 9, 1563
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Pisa, Italy
Died: February 7, 1639
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Piero di Cosimo(Painter)
Birthdate: January 2, 1462
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: April 12, 1522
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Cinquecento
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Domenichino(Painter)
Birthdate: October 21, 1581
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: April 6, 1641
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Agostino Carracci(Painter)
Birthdate: August 16, 1557
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: March 22, 1602
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Rosso Fiorentino(Painter)
Birthdate: March 8, 1494
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: November 14, 1540
38
Daniele da Volterra(Mannerist Italian Painter and Sculptor Known for His Association with 'Michelangelo')
Birthdate: 1509 AD
Birthplace: Volterra, Italy
Died: April 4, 1566
Daniele da Volterra was a 16th-century Mannerist Italian painter and sculptor. He became an apprentice to painter Perino del Vaga as a young boy and worked alongside him. He later befriended Michelangelo and often collaborated with him. His best-known painting is the Descent from the Cross. He trained many pupils, including painter Michele Alberti.
39
Giovanni Baglione(Italian Painter and Art Historian)
Birthdate: 1566 AD
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Died: December 30, 1643
Giovanni Baglione was an Italian painter and art historian. He mainly painted religious and mythological subjects. Baglione is also remembered for his impressive collection of biographies of other artists and painters. Giovanni Baglione is perhaps best remembered for his acrimonious and controversial relationship with Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
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Jacopo Bassano(Painter)
Birthdate: 1510 AD
Birthplace: Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Died: February 14, 1592
41
Pietro Torrigiano(Sculptor)
Birthdate: November 24, 1472
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: July 31, 1528
Florentine sculptor and painter Pietro Torrigiano was the first to introduce Italian Renaissance art to England. He had studied under Lorenzo de’ Medici and had artists such as Michelangelo as his classmates. Known for the tombs he created in Westminster Abbey, he specialized in bronze art.
42
Dosso Dossi(Artist)
Birthdate: 1489 AD
Birthplace: San Giovanni del Dosso, Italy
Died: 1542 AD
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Baldassarre Peruzzi(Architect)
Birthdate: March 7, 1481
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Siena, Italy
Died: January 6, 1536
44
Federico Barocci(Painter)
Birthdate: 1535 AD
Birthplace: Urbino, Italy
Died: September 30, 1612
45
Marcantonio Raimondi(Engraver)
Birthdate: 1480 AD
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: 1534 AD
46
Jacopo de' Barbari(Painter)
Birthdate: 1450 AD
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Died: 1516 AD
47
Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio(Painter)
Birthdate: 1466 AD
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Died: 1516 AD
48
Jacopo Sansovino(Italian Renaissance Sculptor and Architect Who Introduced the Style of the High Renaissance into Venice)
Birthdate: July 2, 1486
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: November 27, 1570
One of the leading sculptors and architects of the Venetian Renaissance era, Jacopo Sansovino specialized in marble and bronze sculptures. An acquaintance of Pietro Aretino and Titian, he was also made the chief architect of Venice. As a sign of respect, he had adopted his teacher Andrea Sansovino’s surname.
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Alessandro Allori
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Giovanni Battista Moroni(Italian painter)
Birthdate: 1520 AD
Birthplace: Albino, Italy
Died: February 5, 1579
