An original study examining works by Flemish painters in central Italy
As the religious wars in the Netherlands intensified, more and more Flemish artists headed for Italy, and Rome in particular. They were mainly young painters who had already completed an apprenticeship in workshops at home, thus acquiring the local style.Through her careful analysis of sources, documents and works of art the writer reconstructs the ways these artists procured commissions, how work was organised and the forms of collaboration, their areas of specialisation (usually related to their cultural origins: small format paintings of landscapes, witchcraft¿), the acquisition of the fresco technique (participation in the decoration of villas and palaces), as well as examining their assimilation of the Italian figurative language. An eloquent example is that of Bartholomaeus Spranger, who was to rise to fame at the court of Rudolf II in Prague.The text also reveals that few artists succeeded in obtaining major commissions – such as altarpieces for churches – within the competitive Roman scene, finding it easier to get work in towns in the Papal States, Latium, Umbria and the Marches