Giovanni Battista Fontana
Giovanni Battista Fontana (1524 – 25 September 1587) was an Italian painter and engraver. Fontana's training made use of the paintings of masters such as Titian and Veronese. His artistic output in Austria, which is recorded from 1562, included major work on altarpieces, with countless sketches and engravings.
Also recorded as Battista Fontana · G. Fontana · Giambattista Fontana · Juan Baptista Fontano
Giovanni Battista Fontana
Giovanni Battista Fontana · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection · Public Domain Mark
- Born
- 1524 · Ala.
- Died
- 1587 · Innsbruck.
- Nationality
- Republic of Venice
- Occupation
- painter · engraver · artist
- Known for
- Allegory of the Starry Sky
- Languages
- Italian
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Documentary summary
Giovanni Battista Fontana (1524 – 25 September 1587) was an Italian painter and engraver. Fontana's training made use of the paintings of masters such as Titian and Veronese. His artistic output in Austria, which is recorded from 1562, included major work on altarpieces, with countless sketches and engravings.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1525867
In this article
Biography
Biography
Fontana was born in Ala near Verona, then part of the Republic of Venice, but settled in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol in 1573. In 1575, he was appointed court painter to Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria. He worked on frescoes for the oratory of the Hofkirche, the Spheristerion in 1573, the Silberne Kapelle, which had been built by Giulio Fontana and where he painted 14 scenes of the Passion in 1576 and lastly decorated a castle chamber in 1578. Between 1583 and 1584, he set to work on the ceiling of the dining hall of Schloss Ambras, depicting Allegories of the Zodiac, the Elements and the Planets. He died in Innsbruck. • Illustration — Ceiling frescoes from Schloss Ambras.
The recorded working language is Italian. Places of work recorded in the authority are Vienna, Rome and Venice. Positions recorded include court painter. Works named in the authority record are Allegory of the Starry Sky. Work by Giovanni Battista Fontana is recorded in the collections of Nationalmuseum, Cabinet des estampes et des dessins, Print Collection, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and Musea Brugge.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1524
Giovanni Battista Fontana was born in 1524 at Ala.
1587
Giovanni Battista Fontana died in 1587 at Innsbruck.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Ala.
Birth place
Innsbruck.
Death place
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1525867: Giovanni Battista FontanaWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Battista Fontana, G. Fontana, Giambattista Fontana, Juan Baptista Fontano and Baptista Fontane. His recorded language was Italian.
Identity and origins
Recognition and collections
Work by Giovanni Battista Fontana is
Nationalmuseum, Cabinet des estampes et des dessins, Print Collection and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
4,138 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Giovanni Battista CecchiEngraver
- Giovanni Battista CoriolanoEngraver
- Giovanni Battista de GubernatisEngraver
- Giovanni Battista de'CavalieriEngraver
- Giovanni Battista MercatiEngraver
- Giovanni Battista MingardiEngraver
- Giovanni Battista PalumbaEngraver
- Giovanni Battista TiepoloEngraver
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