Giovanni Andrea Podestà

Genoa circa 1615 – Rome 1674

Little is known about the life and work of the painter and etcher, Giovanni Andrea Podestà. Having studied under Andrea de’ Ferrari and Domenico Fiasella in his native Genoa, he went to Rome around 1630. There he belonged to the circle around Cassiano dal Pozzo, to whom he dedicated a print, and worked as an etcher and painter in the tradition of Titian and Poussin. In 1650 he was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca and in 1661 collaborated on the inventory of Cardinal Mazarin’s collection of paintings.