An Italian
painter, lived 1615 to 1673. He was also other things:
etcher, poet, musician, actor, but he is most famous now for his rugged
landscapes, which had so much of an influence on 18th-century and early 19th-century
England.
He helped define the "romantic" style, and the "sublime", full of ruins and picturesque scenes and emblems of death.
He worked in Naples, in Rome from 1640 to 1649, and then in Florence. In later years in England, in the 1770s to 1780s when his reputation was at it height, all sorts of romantic stories circulated abouut him. He epitomised the romantic hero and artist. His reputation took a blow with the criticism of Ruskin, but he is still appreciated today. I have to admit I find him interesting but not fascinating.