Francesco Trevisani was an Italian painter who was one of the most important artists in early 18th century Rome. He was born in Capodistria, now part of Slovenia, then part of Veneto. He trained in Venice, first in the workshop of Antonio Zanchi, later under Joseph Heintz the Younger. After the death of Heintz the Younger, Trevisani moved to Rome around 1678. In Rome, he worked for Cardinal Flavio Chigi and other members of the Chigi family. Until 1693, he produced numerous religious paintings and genre scenes for their residences and villas. Soon, Trevisani received commissions for religious painting – for both panel paintings and frescoes – not only from Rome but from all over Italy and abroad. He also made a name for himself as a portraitist. Both the Italian nobility and northern European travellers had themselves painted by Trevisani. His portraits, which often show the sitters in antique costumes, are characterised by their informal, intimate nature and their extraordinary realism. His last major project was creating the cartoons for the mosaics in the baptistery of Saint Peter's Basilica, which Trevisani executed between 1732 and 1744.