Pietro da Cortona (1597-1669)
Pietro da Cortona (1597-1669) was one of the principal protagonists in the artistic ferment of 17th century Rome, whose influence was felt in Florence as well as in Paris, and even in the Palace of Versailles.
He utterly transformed the art of painting in the Eternal City, elevating the teachings of Annibale Carracci with his own research into Illusionism, the unity of figures and space and Venetian light. Sensuous nudes drawn in red chalk, radiant drape studies in black chalk and composition studies drawn with quill and ink: drawing was the favoured tool of his invention, which became extremely popular thanks to the variations of Ciro Ferri, one of his most gifted pupils, and which engravings would diffuse across Europe.
