Guglielmo Borremans

Here he was one of the pre-eminent late-Baroque fresco painters of the first half of the 17th century who received multiple commissions to decorate churches and palaces.

The final verses of the poem refer to Borremans' skills at eternalizing the living and reviving the dead, which point to his activities as a portraitist in Naples.

He likely invited Borremans to design the plates included in the Duke’s book on equestrianism called Pietra Paragone de cavalieri published in Naples in 1711.

This book contains many plates relating to equestrianism that were cut by the prominent Neapolitan engraver Francesco De Grado after Borremans' designs.

It is possible that the reference in the Duke’s poem to portraits by Borremans relates to these designs for his Pietra Paragone de cavalieri.

[7] Borremans moved to Sicily where he was recorded in Palermo in 1714 when he was commissioned to paint a fresco on the ceiling of the church of Our Lady of the Vault.

[8] He worked in various locations in Sicily outside Palermo including Nicosia, Catania, Enna, Caltanissetta, Buccheri, Caccamo and Alcamo.

One of his largest projects was the decorations of the Chiesa di San Ranieri e dei Santi Quaranta Martiri Pisani in Palermo, a commission he commenced in 1725.

He was involved in decorating some aristocratic buildings, culminating in the frescos on the ceiling of the main gallery of the Palazzo dei Principi di Cattolica in Palermo.

In 1733 he was called as an expert to settle a dispute between the two Sicilian painters, Venerando Costanza and Pietro Paolo Vasta, who were competing for the decoration of the interior of the Cathedral of Acireale.

[9] His son Luigi who likely trained and worked with him continued in his father's vein by creating vast decorative cycles for the local churches.

Later his style absorbed local and contemporary influences and developed towards the late Baroque idiom that was popular in southern Italy at the time.

At the same time, the works reveal some late Manierist elements, possibly absorbed from Pieter van Lint, and visible in the lengthened and graceful figures.

Borremans' use of brilliant reds and full-bodied blends, as well as the detailed rendering of the fabrics and the different pieces of flowers, show his 17th-century Flemish heritage.