A painter, draughtsman and printmaker, Tempesta enrolled at the Accademia del Disegno in Florence in 1576, where he was pupil of Santi di Tito, then of the Flemish painter Joannes Stradanus. In Florence he was part of the large group of artists working with Giorgio Vasari on the interior decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio. He then moved to Rome, where he again had links with artists from the Netherlands and worked for the Pope Gregory XIII. From 1579 to 1583, Tempesta participated in the decoration of the Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola. He also collaborated on the frescoes in the Villa d'Este at Tivoli. Between 1589 and 1627 Tempesta made over 1000 prints, which were widely circulated in Europe during his lifetime. Apart from single sheets, these were mainly series of engraving and book illustrations. In Rome Tempesta became a member of the Accademia dei Virtuosi al Pantheon and of the Accademia di San Luca. |
