Giovanni Battista Mercati (1591–1645) was an Italian painter and engraver, active in a

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 ...

style.

Biography

He was born in

Borgo San Sepolcro Sansepolcro, formerly Borgo Santo Sepolcro, is a town and ''comune'' founded in the 11th century, located in the Italian Province of Arezzo in the eastern part of the region of Tuscany. Situated on the upper reaches of the Tiber river, the town ...

, in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, but was also active 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 ...

. He is best known from his engravings, many made after other artists including

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

, Annibale Carraci, and other masters. He painted several altarpieces and frescoes in Sansepolcro, including two frescos on the ''Life of the Virgin'' for the church of Santa Chiara, and an altar-piece in

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

. He also has paintings in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

and

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

. Among his engravings are: *Four antique figures from the

Arch of Constantine The Arch of Constantine ( it, Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvi ...

, in the style of Giovanni Battista Gallestruzzi. *''The Marriage of St. Catherine''; after Correggio. *''St Bibiana refusing to sacrifice to false Gods''; (1626) after a fresco in Santa Bibiana by Pietro da Cortona. One interesting set of engravings are his depictions of some of the extant Ancient Roman ruins in Rome, collected in an edition of about fifty-two plates, title
''Alcune vedute et prospettive di luoghi dishabitati di Roma''
(1629) with introduction by

Salvatore Settis Salvatore Settis (born 11 June 1941) is an Italian archaeologist and art historian. From 1994 to 1999 he was director of the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in Los Angeles and from 1999 to 2010 of the Scuola Normale Superio ...

, engraved in the manner of Israel Silvestre. The series is not a scientific depiction, but does capture some views at a time when kilns and sites were still actively dismantling the remains of ancient edifices. The prints may have influenced Vasi and later

Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian Classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric ...

. Some of the views, however border on being fanciful capricci. Among his engravings are: *Title (with Medici Arms) and Dedication Pages *Plate 3: Sant'Agnese in Agone *Plates 4-5:

Temple of Minerva Medica The temple of Minerva Medica (akin to the temple of Apollo Medicus) was a temple in ancient Rome, built on the Esquiline Hill in the Republican era, though no remains of it have been found. Since the 17th century, it has been wrongly identified ...

near

Santa Bibiana Santa Bibiana is a small Baroque style, Roman Catholic church in Rome devoted to Saint Bibiana. The church façade was designed and built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who also produced a sculpture of the saint holding the palm leaf of martyrs. History ...

*Plate 6: ''I trofei di Mario'' ( Trophies of Marius) *Plates 7 -10: Baths of Diocletian *Plates 11-12: Below San Pietro in Vincoli *Plate 13: Veduta from the Amphitheater towards

San Stefano Rotondo The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill ( it, Basilica di Santo Stefano al Monte Celio, la, Basilica S. Stephani in Caelio Monte) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, ...

) *Plates 14-15: Near the Navicella Fountain *Plate 16: From Suburra to

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

from the Piazza degli Zingari *Plates 17-18: Camp Vaccino (

Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...

) *Plate 19: Towards

Santa Maria della Consolazione Santa Maria della Consolazione is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, Italy at the foot of the Palatine Hill, in rione Campitelli. History The church is named after an icon of the Virgin Mary which was placed on this site to console criminals who we ...

*Plate 20: Temple of Peace *Plate 21: Depiction of Santa Maria NovaSanta Francesca Romana, Rome with remains of

Temple of Venus and Roma The Temple of Venus and Roma (Latin: ''Templum Veneris et Romae'') is thought to have been the largest temple in Ancient Rome. Located on the Velian Hill, between the eastern edge of the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum, in Rome, it was dedicated ...

*Plate 22: Below Santi Giovanni e Paolo *Plate 23: Trajan’s Column *Plate 24: Antonine Column *Plate 25:

Palazzo Madama Palazzo Madama might refer to: * Palazzo Madama, Rome * Palazzo Madama, Turin Palazzo Madama e Casaforte degli Acaja is a palace in Turin, Piedmont. It was the first Senate of the Kingdom of Italy, and takes its traditional name from the embelli ...

*Plate 26: Cortille del Cardinal di Fiorenza Leone XI (Courtyard of the Cardinal of Florence Leo XI) *Plate 27: Temple del Sole d’Oreliano (

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...

Temple of the

Sol Invictus Sol Invictus (, "Unconquered Sun"), sometimes simply known as Helios, was long considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. In recent years, however, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists a ...

) *Plate 28 Porta di Cavalleggieri *Plate 29

Castel Sant’Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum ...

*Plate 30 A St. Giorgio doux pagatano i Soldati Romani (At San Giorgio, Where They Paid the Roman Soldiers) *Plate 31: Below Santa Sabina *Plate 32: ''Ponto resto di Santa Maria'' (Remains of the Santa Maria Bridge or

Ponte Rotto The Pons Aemilius ( it, Ponte Emilio), today called Ponte Rotto, is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy. Preceded by a wooden version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. It once spanned the Tiber, connecting the Forum Boarium ...

) *Plates 33-34, 36-39: ''Pallazo Maggiore'' (Ruins of Imperial Palace on

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

) *Plate 35: Piazza che va a Scola greca (Piazza That Goes to the Greek School) *Plates 40- 45: ''Terme Antoniana'' ( Antonine Baths) *Plates 46-50:

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

*Plate 51: ''Fuori del Popolo a Mano Manco'' (Outside the

Porta del Popolo The Porta del Popolo, or Porta Flaminia, is a city gate of the Aurelian Walls of Rome that marks the border between Piazza del Popolo and Piazzale Flaminio. History The previous name was ''Porta Flaminia'', because the consular Via Flaminia p ...

to the Tiber River *Plate 52 ''Sepulcrum M. Mallorum Chiamato Capo di Bove'' ( Tomb of Caecilia Metella)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercati, Giovanni Battista 1591 births 1645 deaths People from Sansepolcro Italian engravers Italian vedutisti 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters