Francesco Vanni
Francesco Vanni (1563 – 26 October 1610) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher and printer active in Rome and his native city of Siena. Biography Vanni was part of a family of painters, including his half-brother Ventura Salimbeni and stepfather Arcangelo Salimbeni, the latter of whom died when Francesco was young. As a 16-year-old, Vanni went first to Bologna, then to Rome. He apprenticed with Giovanni de' Vecchi during 1579–80, also being influenced, like other Tuscan painters of his day, by Federico Barocci from Urbino. Vanni was among the last painters who reflected the influence of the Sienese School of painting. In Rome, he worked later with Salimbeni, Bartolomeo Passerotti, and Andrea Lilio. Among his patrons was Cardinal Cesare Baronio, who introduced Vanni to Pope Clement VIII and later Cardinal Chigi, later Pope Alexander VII. Pope Clement VIII would honor Vanni with membership in the order of Knights of Christ. This pope also commissioned Vanni to paint the altarpiece depicting Simon Magus rebuked by St. Peter for the St. Peter's, later transferred to mosaic. He painted several other major altarpieces in Rome including aSt Michael defeats rebel angels for the sacristy of San Gregorio; a Pietà for Santa Maria