ABBATE, Niccolo dell'

Italian painter (b. 1509, Modena, d. 1571, Fontainebleau)

Painter of the Bolognese school who, along with others, introduced the post-Renaissance Italian style of painting known as Mannerism to France and helped to inspire the French classical school of landscape painting.

During his stay in Bologna (1548-52), his style matured, influenced by his contemporaries Correggio and Parmigiano. His stucco-surface landscapes in the Poggi (now Palazzo dell'Università) survive to show his understanding of nature.

Among his later paintings executed for Charles IX were a series of landscapes with mythologies that influenced many 17th-century French painters He also designed a series of tapestries, "Les Mois arabesques," and some of his designs were adopted by the painted enamel industry of Limoges. His last works are believed to be 16 murals (1571) in which he was assisted by his son, Giulio Camillo. His work in France is recognized as a principal contribution to the first significant, wholly secular movement in French painting, the Fontainebleau style.