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: (60)
Click the artwork titles below to see actual examples of artwork or works of art relevant to works by Pietro Testa.

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Portrait of Pietro Testa, Giovanni Cesare Testa (1630 - 1655) , no date, Etching
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Giovanni Cesare Testa Achilles on the back of the Centaur Chiron Etching 17th century
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G. Petrignani St. Peter Delivered From Prison, after Pietro Testa Etching 17th century
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) St. Catherine, after Pietro Testa Etching 17th century
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Mythological Scene with Bacchus and Persephone, after Pietro Testa Etching 17th century
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Two Figures, after a drawing by Pietro Testa Etching mounted to a heavier sheet 17th century
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Stefano Mulinari The Death of Dido, after Pietro Testa Etching and engraving 18th century
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Giovanni Cesare Testa The Sacrament Administered to the Dying St. Gerome, after Domenichino Etching with engraving 17th century
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Croquis : des amours (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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Bacchanale (1646 en) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Two Saints Invoking the Virgin to stay the Plague, copy after Testa Etching 17th century
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Isaac bénissant Jacob (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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The Symposium, Pietro Testa (Italy, Lucca, 1611 - 1650) , 1648, Etching with drypoint
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Figure allégorique d'un Fleuve (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus, Pietro Testa (Italy, Lucca, 1611 - 1650) , circa 1630, Etching
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Figures auprès d'une double statue (1793) by TESTA Pietro (d'après)
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Centaure apporte une proie à sa famille (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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Cortège marin avec une déesse à la coquille (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Death of Cato etching 1648
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Symposium Etching with drypoint 1648
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Sacrifice of Abraham Etching 1640 - 1642
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Self-Portrait etching circa 1645 - 1648
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus etching 17th century
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Un saint prélat et une sainte invoquant la Vierge à l'Enfant (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Departure of the Prodigal Son Etching circa 1645
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) St. Jerome Etching circa 1631 - 1637
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Allegory of Winter: Apotheosis of the Artist*s Genius Etching 1644
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Socrates at the Table with his Friends Etching 1648
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The Sacrifice of Isaac, Pietro Testa (Italy, Lucca, 1611 - 1650) , circa 1640-1642, Etching
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Prodigal Son Tending the Swine Etching circa 1645
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Amours dans un paysage (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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Sainte Famille et sainte Anne (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) St. John the Baptist Red chalk on laid paper 17th century
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist Etching circa 1630
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Way of Virtue: Young Man Arriving on Parnassus Etching circa 1645 - 1650
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Soldat tenant un bouclier et un glaive, de profil, marchant vers la droite (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Nymphs and Satyrs in a Wooded Landscape Reproductive etching 17th century
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The Triumph of the Virtuous Artist on Parnassus, Pietro Testa (Italy, Lucca, 1611 - 1650) , circa 1644-1646, Etching with drypoint
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Adoration of the Magi Etching with drypoint circa 1640
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) The Infant Christ Embracing the Cross (or, The Dream of Joseph) Etching circa 1635 - 1637
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Three Lucchese Saints Interceding with the Virgin for the Victims of the Plague Etching circa 1630 - 1631
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Groupe d'anges entourant un homme à demi-couché (1794) by TESTA Pietro (d'après)
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Vierge à l'Enfant debout, un pied sur le globe terrestre (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
J. Paul Getty Museum -
Holy Family with Saint Anne
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Ange drapé : saint Michel (?) (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
The Metropolitan Museum of Art -
Alexander the Great Rescued from the River Cydnus Pietro Testa (Italian, Roman, 1612-1650)Oil on canvas;
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Scène allégorique : la Peste dévorant les enfants de Cybèle (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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La Sainte Famille avec saint Jean et une cinquième figure à droite (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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Trois femmes nues, deux figures tenant un disque, et des demi-figures (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à)
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La Mort de Sinorix (1793) by TESTA Pietro (d'après)
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L'Assomption de la Vierge (4e quart 16e siècle ; 1er quart 17e siècle) by CARRACCI école des
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Allégories de la Peinture et de la Géométrie (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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Pietro Testa ( il Lucchesino) Recto:Two Male Figures ~Verso: Study of Drapery r:Pen and brown ink, and brown wash,with graphite on blue laid paper onlaid to a heavier sheet ; v: Graphite and black chalk 17th century
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Scène historique - mythologique avec musiciens (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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Un fleuve couché à terre vu en raccourci et de profil (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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Mort de Germanicus (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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L'Education d'Achille (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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Saint Jérôme dans le désert (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro
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Ariane endormie ; buste de femme, de profil vers la gauche (1ère moitié 17e siècle) by TESTA Pietro (attribué à) ; L'ANTIQUE (inspiré par)
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L'Académie de la Peinture (1793) by TESTA Pietro (d'après)

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

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