Antonio Peresinotti

Antonio Peresinotti was one of a group of Italian artists to arrive in St. Petersburg in 1742 on the invitation of the recently crowned Empress Elizabeth. He worked for the court theatre as a scene painter and in 1750 was responsible for decorating the new theatre in the Winter Palace. He also collaborated on frescoes on the ceilings of various royal palaces, although he normally took a secondary role to more famous artists such as Giuseppe Valeriani and Stefano Torelli. In 1767 he became a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts and quickly became its first teacher of perspective painting.

Works: Landscape with ancient ruins (Academy of Arts Museum), Ruins of Salona (Academy of Arts Museum)

Connected with: Stefano Torelli, Giuseppe Valeriani