Antonio Carracci

Antonio Carracci was the last painter of the Carracci family, the son of Agostino and nephew of Annibale. He painted small, refined cabinet pictures of religious and mythological stories, with careful storytelling, clear space and graceful gestures.

He was born in Venice in 1583 and trained with his father, and after Agostino’s death in 1602 he worked with Annibale in Rome and inherited his studio. His best-known work is The Deluge in the Louvre, a scene of people struggling against the flood that influenced Poussin. Other works include Landscape with Bathers in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen in the National Gallery, London. He was admired in his time but later confused with his better-known relatives. He died in Rome in 1618, aged about 35.

The Flood is a good place to start: look at the small figures and how each one reacts.