Artist: Pietro Testa (1611 - 1650)
Nationality: Italian
Movement:
Media: Painting,Printmaking
Influences:

Biography:
Pietro Testa had aspirations to become history painter but instead gained recognition for his printmaking and draftsmanship. He arrived in Rome in the late 1620’s and began drawing antiquities for engravings for numerous patrons. Not long after entering Pietro da Cortona’s studio in 1631, he was thrown out for his difficult temperament. He began concentrating on etching and drawing, traveling to Lucca twice in hopes of gaining new patronage. When those attempts failed, Testa returned to Rome and began to write a treatise on painting that rejected Baroque illusionism and the realist approach of the Dutch Italianate landscapists. He traded in his mythological themes for historical scenes done in a style that was the predecessor of Neoclassicism. As a result of his failing career, Testa turned to tragic themes and ultimately drowned in the Tiber River, probably committing suicide.

Artworks in Museum Collections: (40)
Click the artwork titles below to see actual examples of artwork or works of art relevant to works by Pietro Testa.

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), St. Catherine, after Pietro Testa, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Two Figures, after a drawing by Pietro Testa, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Mythological Scene with Bacchus and Persephone, after Pietro Testa, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Symposium, 1648
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Two Saints Invoking the Virgin to stay the Plague, copy after Testa, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Death of Cato, 1648
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), St. John the Baptist, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Sacrifice of Abraham, 1640 - 1642
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), St. Jerome, circa 1631 - 1637
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Self-Portrait, circa 1645 - 1648
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Adoration of the Magi, circa 1640
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Socrates at the Table with his Friends, 1648
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Departure of the Prodigal Son, circa 1645
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
G. Petrignani, St. Peter Delivered From Prison, after Pietro Testa, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Stefano Mulinari, The Death of Dido, after Pietro Testa, 18th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Prodigal Son Tending the Swine, circa 1645
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Allegory of Winter: Apotheosis of the Artist*s Genius, 1644
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Nymphs and Satyrs in a Wooded Landscape, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist, circa 1630
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Recto:Two Male Figures
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Way of Virtue: Young Man Arriving on Parnassus, circa 1645 - 1650
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), The Infant Christ Embracing the Cross (or, The Dream of Joseph), circa 1635 - 1637
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino), Three Lucchese Saints Interceding with the Virgin for the Victims of the Plague, circa 1630 - 1631
J. Paul Getty Museum -
Holy Family with Saint Anne
The Metropolitan Museum of Art -
Alexander the Great Rescued from the River Cydnus Pietro Testa (Italian, Roman, 1612-1650)Oil on canvas;
Museum of Fine Arts -
Stephen Bullard Memorial Fund ; Pietro Testa, Italian, 1612-1650 The Triumph of the Virtuous Artist
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona), Daniel Freed from the Lion"s Den, after Pietro da Cortona, 18th century
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts -
Artist: Pietro da Cortona (Pietro Berrettini) Title: Portrait of Cardinal Pietro Maria Borghese (created cardinal
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona), Cleopatra(?), after Pietro da Cortona, from the series Disegni originali d"eccelenti pittori..., 18th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona), Sacrifice of Iphigenia, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona), Ceiling of Palazzo Barberini, 16th - 17th century
-
Pietro da Cortona - Portrait of Cardinal Pietro Maria Borghese c. 1633-35 oil on canvas Minneapolis Institute of Arts Italian
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona), Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes, 17th century
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Fulvio Testa, Sketchbook: New York 6-15 Jan.1985, 1985
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona), Santa Bibiana refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods, 1626
The Metropolitan Museum of Art -
The Massacre of the Innocents, predella panel, ca. 1470 Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro
The Metropolitan Museum of Art -
The Adoration of the Magi, predella panel, ca. 1470 Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro
-
Titian - Pietro Aretino 1548-51 oil on canvas The Frick Collection Italian
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco -
Fulvio Testa, Sketch from Sketchbook: New York 6-15 Jan.1985, 1985

Artnews Articles and Exhibition Information: (1)
Click on any of the links below to read about artnews or exhibitions related to Testa

King County Public Art Program: Call for Artists: 2003 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
King County Office of Civil Rights One artwork will be selected that can be featured on items produced for the celebration including the calendar, public display boards, award certificates, the OC...

Further Artwork and Information:

Pietro Testa Online
Pietro Testa (1611 - 1650) Biography, Artwork Images, Exhibitions, Reviews
TESTA, Pietro
Pietro Testa (Getty Museum)
Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple by TESTA, Pietro
PIETRO TESTA
Pietro Testa
Pietro Testa
Pietro Testa - Alcibiades
Find in a Library: Pietro Testa, 1612-1650 : prints and drawings

Search the Art History Database for artists, titles, media, year, and other indepth information: