Agostino Ciampelli

Agostino Ciampelli was born in Florence. There is little known about his early childhood. Agostino trained in the studio of Santi di Tito, a leading artists of the Counter Reformation. Agostino was admitted into the Accademia del Disegno in Florence in 1585. Some of his earliest known works include paintings for a temporary triumphal arch at the entry of Christina of Lorraine into Florence in 1589. These paintings were constructed by Santi and his pupils. In Florence, Agostino he frescoed a Story of Esther and Ahasuerus in the Tornabuoni Chapel. Agostino also worked with Andrea Commodi at the Gesu, painting scenes from the life of Ignatius that would later adorn Commodi’s tomb in 1605. Agostino traveled to Rome during the papacy of Clement VIII. There Agostino painted Crucifixion for Santa Prassede, angels on the walls of the apse of Santa Maria in Trastevere and a Visitation in Santo Stefano di Pescia. He also painted a Nativity of the Virgin in San Michelino Visdomini in Florence, and a fresco cycle of Old Testament themes for the Palazzo Corsini. He also painted the Chapel of St. Andrew in the Church of the Gesu in Rome, representing The Martydom of St Stephen on the walls; on the vault The Glory of the Virgin Surrounded by Holy Martyrs; and for the altarpiece, The Martyrdom of St Andrew.

Ciampelli was also known for using other mediums in his artwork. A very well known drawing of his is The Stoning of St. Stephen which was produced with pen and ink with chalk and was executed when Ciampelli was in Florence around the 1580s. This drawing is a great example of how Ciampelli’s artwork was simple and direct religious art. Ciampelli also constructed lunettes, one of them being a decoration for a chapel. The lunette consists of angels making music and carrying the symbols of the Immaculate Conception along with angels on the side. The medium used to create this was pen, ink, and wash with chalk and was created in Rome around 1615.