(b Borgo San Sepolcro, c. 1582; bur Florence, 1656). Italian etcher and draughtsman. He did not study at the ‘academy’ of Giulio Parigi in Florence, as has been claimed, although he did collaborate with the architect in 1608 when he engraved prints of two of Parigi’s theatre sets. His first documented work is from 1603, the date of a series of landscape etchings. Northern influences in his early prints can be traced to Paul Bril, but his way of creating perspective by the intensification of shadow is reminiscent of Antonio Tempesta. It is significant that Cantagallina was one of the first artists to abandon the late-Mannerist vision of nature as fantastic and frightening for a genuine interest in themes from daily life. Among his most notable drawings are the splendid Village Piazza (1633; Princeton U., NJ, A. Mus.) and the large View of Siena (Florence, Uffizi). In 1612–13 he was in the Netherlands, where he produced such detailed drawings as the Palace of Brussels and Sulphur-making at Franc Mont (both Brussels, Musées Royaux B.-A.). Some of his etchings also are known: the Death of St Francis (1605); Bona, City of Barbary (1607); four etchings on biblical subjects (1609); a series of 14 landscapes (1627; London, BM); and 12 undated landscapes (Vienna, Albertina). His last known engraving dates from 1635, a Landscape with Travellers that is notable for the delicacy of its execution and for the masterly handling of space. The latest drawing (Florence, Uffizi) is dated 1655.

• Cantagallina, Remigio
  • Bella, Stefano della, §1: Life and work