More about Bartholomeus Spranger
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You’re either famous when you’re alive or famous when you’re dead, and Bartholomeus Spranger was famous when he was alive.
Spranger was a court artist for the Holy Roman emperor Rudolf II, and painted mostly nude figures of gods and goddesses in anatomically improbable positions--much like heroines on the covers of comic books. Ah, the male gaze.
What’s notable about Spranger is that his work isn’t really that notable. There was nothing so outstanding about his work to indicate that he had any sort of influence on late Renaissance art. Turns out, he just happened to make the right connections and be at the right place at the right time, sort of like how I imagine Katy Perry became famous. Pretty much everything he accomplished is thanks to a chance meeting with Giulio Clovio, who became his master and eventually passed his name on to the right people. So remember kids, if you want to be famous you have to talk to strangers.
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Born in Antwerp, but lived all over the place, mostly Rome, Vienna, and Prague.
Court painter to Pope Pius V, and later to Holy Roman Emperors Maximilian II and Rudolph II. Rudolph likes him so much he arranged a marriage for him with a wealthy girl from Vienna, so Spranger got to live a life of luxury (it's good to be the king, but being a favored court painter can be the next best thing).
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Bartholomeus Spranger
Bartholomeus Spranger or Bartholomaeus Spranger (21 March 1546 – 1611) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, sculptor, and designer of prints. Working in Prague as a court artist for the Holy Roman emperor Rudolf II, he responded to his patron's aesthetic preferences by developing a version of the artistic style referred to as Northern Mannerism. This style stressed sensuality, which was expressed in smoothly modeled, elongated figures arranged in elegant poses, often including a nude woman seen from behind. Spranger's unique style combining elements of Netherlandish painting and Italian influences, in particular the Roman Mannerists, had an important influence on other artists in Prague and elsewhere, in particular the Dutch Republic, as his paintings were disseminated widely through prints as well as by artists who had worked with him such as Karel van Mander.
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