Antonio Verrio

Antonio Verrio (* 1636 or 1639 † June 15, 1707 at Hampton Court ) was an Italian painter of the Baroque. He worked mainly in England, where he was modern during the short period in which there baroque ceiling and wall painting, one of the leading representatives of monumental decorative painting was.

He came from Lecce and Naples. He says that he learned painting in Venice and work in Naples and in France before he came to England 1671-1672. In England, he quickly made a career as a painter especially of wall and ceiling paintings. Under King Charles II he was involved in the decoration of the Whitehall Palace and the painting of the State Apartments of Windsor Castle, Charles II appointed him in 1684 as the successor to Lely to his court painter. However, James II employed him not as a painter, so he had to work as a royal gardener. Under William III. however, he was again in the expansion of the Hampton Court Palace busy, where he painted the main staircase, three other rooms of the parade room and the Banqueting House in the garden. In addition, he was still working in the painting of country estates such as Burghley and Chatsworth House.

In a European comparison, his works have been criticized by contemporaries as mediocre. His success founded more on his assertiveness and lack of native English painters as on his artistic ability. His student Laguerre surpassed him in artistic quality, but had less success.