Stefano Pozzi

Stefano Pozzi was an artist active across the first half of the eighteenth century, with documented activity spanning from 1699 to 1755. His artistic output centers primarily on large-scale mythological, religious, and allegorical subjects, executed in both painting and drawing mediums.

The seven known works represented in museum databases demonstrate his capacity for complex figural compositions derived from historical texts. His religious repertoire includes the design study for The Presentation in the Temple and the dramatic Old Testament subject The Contest of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (I Kings 18: 20-46). Pozzi also addressed classical narratives, evidenced by subjects drawn from Virgil, specifically Venus Disguised as a Huntress Appears to Aeneas (Aeneid I: 305 ff.) and Venus in the Forge of Vulcan (Aeneid VIII: 370 ff). His involvement in decorative schemes is confirmed by the drawing Allegorical Ceiling Decoration with Justice, Charity, and Fortitude.

Of the documented works, four are drawings and three are paintings. The significance of Stefano Pozzi paintings and preparatory drawings is established by their inclusion in major American collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. As works created in the early 18th century, many of his surviving pieces are now considered public domain, often resulting in their distribution as high-quality prints and downloadable artwork for academic and private study.