Denis Calvaert

Like many of his Italian Renaissance peers, Denis (or Denys) Calvaert studied architecture, anatomy, and history, but is most famous for his biblical oil paintings. A Flemish immigrant to Italy who worked in the late-16th and early-17th centuries, Calvaert was in a unique position to bridge the gap between the Northern and Italian Renaissance. Calvaert applied a Northern, mannerist aesthetic of elongated figures and dramaticized beauty to a distinctly Italian composition, color palette, and use of chiaroscuro. Although not a favorite painter of the wealthy to commission, he made a solid living and gained the respect of his contemporaries by opening a studio and guiding many of the High Renaissance’s eminent painters.