Michelangelo Maestri (Italian, d. 1812)

Maestri's finest compositions are based on motifs from antique frescoes discovered in Pompeii and Herculaneum and from designs by Raphael or his pupil Giulio Romano. His work became very popular and was often purchased by travellers during the Grand Tour. Some of his most famous gouaches portray putti leading animals on a chariot and were inspired by ceiling frescoes in the salon of Villa Lante, on the Janiculum Hill in Rome.