Pietro Testa (Born 1612) was an Italian artist who drew hundreds of antiquities for various patrons and for engravings in Rome by the late 1620s. He was among the most renowned Italian draftsmen and printmakers of the 1600s. His talent inclined him strongly towards philosophy, and made him prefer solitude and retirement. Testa desired fame as a history painter but never achieved it. Testa entered Pietro da Cortona's studio in 1631, but he was thrown out of the studio because of his difficult personality. Testa returned to Rome after an interlude in Lucca, and vowed to study coloring. He continued to concentrate on etching and drawing, where his greater skills lay. He stayed in Lucca for six years but failed to attract new patrons. When he was back in Rome, he began a treatise on painting. He rejected the concept of copying nature and Baroque illusionism.
He also transformed his imagery, employing a stricter, monumental style anticipating Neoclassicism, and replacing poetic mythologies with ancient history themes. After career setbacks, Testa grew preoccupied with tragic themes and finally, in 1650, he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Tiber River – though some believe that the death was accidental. His prints were successful and frequently copied. His early prints were influenced by Federico Barocci and were often religious. These achieve very delicate effects of light. His later prints became more austere and harder in style, as he attempted a personal version of neo-classicism. Many of Testa’s later subjects were original classical subjects; the most ambitious reflected his personal struggles.
