Antonio Maria Crespi

Antonio Maria Crespi Castoldi, called il Bustino (c.1580 – 2 September 1630), was an Italian painter, member of a prominent family of the seventeenth century Lombardy.

Biography

Antonio Maria was born in Busto Arsizio, belonging to a family of painters active in the seventeenth century, the Crespi (including Daniele and the most famous Giovanni Battista). He worked in Como, where he resided in the parish of San Fedele between the years 1620 and 1628, and in Lombardy. His pupil seems to have been his adopted son Pietro Bianchi.

Strongly linked to the traditional languages of the Counter-Reformation and Mannerism, Crespi distinguished himself as a prolific portraitist. His works are mainly of religious subjects, several of which are found in the churches of Busto. His style owes much to Morazzone. He was also indebted to the lessons of his relative il Cerano.

He died during the plague of 1630, in his hometown of Busto Arsizio, a few days before a son and wife.

External links

• Crespi Castoldi