Atalanta and Meleager with Fountains of Versailles

Antonio Tempesta (1555 – 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art connects Baroque Rome and the Flemish culture of Antwerp was born in Florence. He enrolled in the Florentine Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in 1576. He was a pupil of Santi di Tito, then of the Flemish painter Joannes Stradanus. He was part of the large team of artists working under Giorgio Vasari on the interior decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. He painted a series of turbulent and crowded battle scenes for the Medici. He also completed a series of engravings on outdoor courtly hunting scenes. When in Rome, he associated with artists from the Habsburg Netherlands. Tempesta is now best known as a printmaker in etching and engraving. He also drew many designs for tapestries.