Crespi was born and died in Bologna, where he was chiefly active. He travelled in North Italy. He was an internationally patronised painter, employed by Grand Prince Ferdinand de' Medici and Pope Benedict XIV. His many pupils included Pietro Longhi and G. B. Piazzetta.
Giuseppe Maria Crespi
1665 - 1747
Paintings by Giuseppe Maria Crespi
In this slender painting, three musicians play their instruments – a large triangle with rings, a recorder and a lyre. None of them look out at the viewer, and two actually turn away, a pose for which Crespi was well known. A turbaned man pulling his horse by the bridle looms over the trio. To th...
Not on display
Crespi is best known today for his paintings of everyday life. This scene, in which a man lifts a heavy basket of bread rolls from the side of his donkey, draws on the Bolognese tradition of depicting street vendors at their work. A bearded figure on the right raises his hand to purchase three of...
Not on display
Saint Jerome, a fourth-century Christian scholar and hermit, is seated in a nocturnal landscape, absorbed in the book that lies open on his lap. He is celebrated for producing what is considered to be the first Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. He spent four years living as a...
Not on display