Gregorio Guglielmi (1714-1773)

• Was an Italian-born fresco painter.
• His artistic education concluded with lessons from Francesco Trevisani.
• He obtained the patronage of Cardinal Alessandro Albani and may have also been supported by Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini. 

• In 1752, he was invited to Naples by the architect, Ferdinando Fuga.

• Queen Maria Amalia introduced him to her father, Elector Frederick Augustus II, who arranged for him to work in Dresden.

• His Academic inclinations were enhanced in Germany; where he met Pietro Metastasio.

• In 1755, he created frescoes, inspired by Metastasio, at what is now the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and in Schönbrunn Palace.

• As early as 1767, he had submitted drawings to the Russian court in Saint Petersburg.

• In 1770, he was finally called there by Catherine the Great, assisted by the De Derichs. 

• But, except for some portraits, his work there never progressed beyond the initial sketches.

• In fact, it was said (by the sculptor, Étienne Maurice Falconet), that he died of a "putrid fever" after Catherine severely criticized a portrait of her.

• For some commentators, the fact that he and De Derichs died on the same day, followed by De Derichs' wife the day after, suggests that they were poisoned.

• Falconet's comment may indicate that he was not well-liked.

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