Daniel Seiter

1647 Vienna – 1705 Turin

Daniel Seiter is an important representative of the Late Baroque period in Italy. He represents a type of artist who, at the close of the 17th century, demonstrated remarkable virtuosity in bringing together in his person the multifarious achievements of preceding generations of Italian painters. Initially trained in Vienna as an officer and fortifications engineer, his eventful life took him to Venice round about the year 1667, where he took up painting in the studio of Johann Carl Loth. After a short stay in Florence he moved to Rome about 1680, where he swiftly achieved success and esteem for his altar and history paintings in the circle around Carlo Maratta. Admitted to the Accademia di San Luca in 1686, he was appointed court painter in Turin by Victor Amadeus II of Savoy in 1688. His magnificent paintings for the Galleria di Daniele in the Palazzo Reale consisting of a synthesis of Classical and Baroque elements were a superb testimony to the Duke’s ambitious plans.