Pietro Antonio Martini (9 July 1738 – 2 April 1797) was an Italian painter and engraver, active in a lateBaroque style.
He was born atTrecasali, within the duchy of Parma, a relative of the painterBiagio Martini. Pietro's father wished him to study law, but he arranged to have some training locally underGiuseppe Baldrighi in design, and thenBenigno Bossi. In 1761, he won a prize at theAcademy of Fine Arts of Parma. In 1769, with the patronage of the minister of the Duchydu Tillot and perhaps under the encouragement of the court architectPetitot, Pietro went to Paris to learn engraving working withJacques-Philippe Le Bas.[1] With the dismissal of du Tillot in 1771, his subsidy stopped, but he demurred in returning to Parma to settle, since he was no longer assured a post as professor of engraving in the Parmesan Academy of Fin Arts. He set forth on traveling through Italy, then up to Netherlands, and finally London. In 1787, he had a prominent exhibition of his prints. In 1792, he was awarded the position of Academic Professor of the Parmesan Academy, but continued to travel, until the French Revolution prompted him to return to Parma.[2]
One of the subjects of his etchings was views of late 18th-century art exhibitions themselves. For example, one etching depicts the 1785 Salon exhibition at the Louvre;[3] another engraving depicts aView of the Salon of 1785; and a third, theExhibition of the Royal Academy in 1787.[4] These engravings are historically instructive in demonstrating the crowded stacked displays of artworks utilized in this period. Other etchings indicated that the admiring crowds may have been a stock image for use in other similar engravings.[5]
Among his etchings are the following:[6]
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