Pietro Testa Art

Pietro Testa (Born 1612) was an Italian artist who is known for works such as Alcibiades Interrupts Socrates' Symposium, Sacrifice of Isaac, Nymphs and Satyrs in a Landscape, Return of the Prodigal Son, and Garden of Venus & Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Born in Lucca, Testa moved to Rome early in life. It is recorded that in 1631, he was ejected from the Cortona studio soon after joining the workshop. Another record indicates that he trained under Domenichino or under Pietro Paolini and then Annibale Carracci. He worked under the patronage of Cassiano dal Pozzo for Carracci. He became friends with Francesco Mola and Nicolas Poussin. Some of his etchings have a fantastic quality reminiscent of Jacques Callot. His work titled “Sacrifice of Iphigenia” influenced Tiepolo's rendition at Villa Valmarana in Vicenza. Federico Barocci influenced his early prints, from the 1630s, which were often religious. His later prints became more austere and harder in style, as he attempted a personal version of neo-classicism. Many of his later subjects reflected his personal struggles and were original classical subjects. Testa’s prints were frequently copied and were very successful. From 1638 to 1644, Testa completed his most important work, a set of highly detailed and complex etchings on the theme of The Seasons, which served as an expression of his interest in Platonic philosophy. These were considered his finest and most important works by sympathetic contemporaries. The ready to hang framed Pietro Testa art were and are still in great demand. Testa favored direct observation of natural phenomena because he was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci. This fact may have limited his productivity as an artist and might even have caused his death.