Prospero Orsi, also referred to as Prosperino delle Grottesche (1560s–1630s) was an Italian painter of the late-

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

and early-

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period, active mainly in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Biography

He apparently trained under Giuseppe Cesari d’Arpino. Baglione recounts that during the papacy of

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

, Prospero was one of the many artists that decorated the

Scala Sancta The ( en, Holy Stairs, it, Scala Santa) are a set of 28 white marble steps that are Roman Catholic relics located in an edifice on extraterritorial property of the Holy See in Rome, Italy proximate to the Archbasilica of Saint John in Lateran ...

walls and ceilings with frescoes. He worked on the depiction of ''Moses parting the Sea'' and ''Isaac blessing Jacob''. In the benediction loggia of San Giovanni Laterano, he depicted an episode in the ''Life of Constantine''. He also worked painting in the Vatican libraries. He is described as an avid painter of Grotteseques. He also worked with

Antonio Circignani Antonio Circignani (1560–1620) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance ( Mannerism) period and early Baroque. Born in Pomarance, he is known also as Antonio ''Pomarancio''. He was the son of the painter Niccolò Circignani, and with his ...

to decorate a room in the Palazzo Antici-Mattei in Rome. While he initially was a close follower of the Cavaliere d’Arpino, he later became allied with Michelangelo da Caravaggio. Orsi and

Cherubino Alberti Cherubino Alberti (1553–1615), also called Borghegiano, was an Italian engraver and painter. He is most often remembered for the Roman frescoes completed with his brother Giovanni Alberti during the papacy of Clement VIII. He was most prolif ...

, were among those who helped bail Caravaggio out of prison in 1605. Baglione states:''Ma dopo alcun tempo, no so per qual cagione, divennegli poco amorevole, e fu uno de’ Turcimanni di Michelangelo da Caravaggio, e di esser contrario al Cavaliere egli al possible si affaticava.'' From Le vite by Baglione and Passari, page 188.

''That after some time, I know not for what reason, they (Orsi and Arpino) came to have little affection, and he (Orsi) became one of the
Dragoman A dragoman or Interpretation was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish-, Arabic-, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. A ...
(translator for the exotic and foreign) of Michelangelo da Caravaggio, and was contrary to the Cavaliere as much as possible when he worked.''

His date of birth is unclear, Baglione describes him as young (20-30s?) during the papacy of Sixtus V (1585-1590), and as having died at the age of 75 during the papacy of Urban VIII (1623-1644). His first works documented are with

Galeazzo Ghidoni Galeazzo Ghidoni or Gidoni ( Cremona, late 16th century - early 17th century) was an Italian painter. Biography He was a pupil in Cremona of Antonio Campi. His first activity in Cremona is documented by 1583. His ''San Giovanni Battista preachin ...

in decorating the Castel Sant’Angelo in 1582. Mancini in 1620 describes him as in his 50s. This all suggests a birth in early 1560s, and death after 1630.

References

16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian Baroque painters Mannerist painters Caravaggisti Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown {{Italy-painter-16thC-stub