Spranger, Bartholomeus (1546–1611)

Flemish painter, sculptor, and engraver. His compatriot Giambologna introduced Spranger to the court of Maximilian II in 1575; he remained at the imperial court for the rest of his life, being one of the court painters to Maximilian's successor, Rudolph II, from 1581. His works reflect Flemish and Italian influences, in particular that of Giambologna.

Spranger trained in Antwerp and then worked (briefly) in Paris before travelling to Italy. He visited Milan and Parma (where he was influenced by the works of Correggio and Parmigianino) and settled in 1566 in Rome, where he was patronized by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese.

For Rudolph II, Spranger produced a series of mythological (for example, Hercules, Deianeira, and Nessus about 1581–82) and allegorical (for instance, The Triumph of Wisdom about 1591) paintings.