Pietro Antonio Nelli (29 June 1672 – 1740) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. He created religious works, portraits, and landscapes.
Life and work
He was born in Massa. At an early age he went to Rome, where he was a pupil of Giovanni Maria Morandi, who also became a friend and supporter. He may have lived with him until 1717, when he died.
Pope Clement XI commissioned a portrait that is one of his best-known works. He was then appointed a Court Painter by the Albani family, a position he held until the time of Clement XII, and created numerous family portraits, including one of Cardinal Alessandro Albani. The Rospigliosi and Pallavicini families were also major patrons. Many of these works, and other portrayals of religious leaders, became widely familiar through engravings made by Girolamo Rossi, Niccolò Billy, and Giovanni Giacomo Frey. Some of these were later published in Serie de' Cardinali crea dall'anno 1700 all'anno 1773.
