(b Siena, 20 Jan 1568; d Siena, before 23 Nov 1613). Italian painter, draughstman and engraver. The son of Arcangelo Salimbeni ( fl 1567–80/89) and Battista Focari, widow of Eugenio Vanni, he was first taught painting in his native Siena by his father, as was his half-brother Francesco Vanni, with whom he was often confused. Ventura possibly spent some time in northern Italy before going to Rome, where he worked from 1588, collaborating on the fresco decoration of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (the Vatican Library) during the reign of Pope Sixtus V (reg 1585–90). Salimbeni’s painting during 1590–91, when he worked in Il Gesù and S Maria Maggiore, Rome, reflects the influence of the Cavaliere d’Arpino, Cherubino Alberti and Andrea Lilli. The few engravings that Salimbeni executed were made in Rome. Of these, seven survive, dated between 1589 and 1594 (B. 190–97).

• Salimbeni, Ventura
  • Italy, §III, 5(vi): Baroque and Rococo painting, c 1600–c 1750: Genoa
  • collaboration
    • Lilli, Andrea
  • pupils
    • Manetti, Rutilio
    • Morazzone, §1: Training and early works, to 1611
    • Strada, Vespasiano
  • works
    • Pisa, §III, 1(iii): Cathedral complex: Painting
    • Rome, §V, 16: Il Gesù
    • Siena, §III, 3(ii)(c): Palazzo Pubblico decoration, 1355–1555
    • Siena, §III, 3(ii)(d): Palazzo Pubblico decoration, after 1555
    • Tassi, Agostino