Paolo Fiammingo

Fiammingo was born in Antwerp, and registered in the Guild of St Luke there in 1561. In 1573 he is recorded as working in Venice, as an assistant in Tintoretto's studio, where he specialised in painting landscape backgrounds.

Fiammingo remained in Venice where he opened a successful studio. Although he painted many religious subjects, his reputation was based on mythological fantasies, developed from the example of Giorgione.