- NameAntonio David
- Activity/Titlepainter, chalcographer, engraver
- Sexmale
- Variant namesAntonio David
- Nationality/DatesItalian, dead after 1735
- PlacesPlace of birth: Venedig, Italien
BiographyAntonio David was a portrait painter born in
Venice. He was the son of the artist Ludovico
Antonio David and received his first training in
his father’s workshop. Ludovico had made study
trips to Bologna and Parma, and his admiration
for Correggio was later passed on to his son. In
1686 the family moved to Rome. Ludovico and
Antonio entered the circle of the papal court,
thanks to their portrait drawings of popes and
cardinals for prints. A work possibly from Antonio
David’s first period is the portrait of Clemente
XI Albani from the Torlonia collection in Rome.
In 1717 David became court painter to the exiled
Stuart court in Italy. A portrait of Maria Clementina
Sobieski, wife of James III Stuart, is today
preserved at Lambeth Palace in London. In the
1730s David came into contact with the papal
family of Clement XII (Lorenzo Corsini), and a
portrait of Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini has been
identified by Anthony M. Clark in the Accademia
dei Lincei in Rome. The painting is modelled on
Francesco Trevisani’s works from the beginning
of the 18th century. David’s souvenir portraits of
young English Grand Tourists, such as William
Howard (Suffolk Collection, Blackheath), prefigure
the work of Pompeo Batoni.