Italian painter, active in Spain. Little is known of his life. He was a pupil of Salviati in his native Florence, and he worked in a pompous Mannerist style. His production in Spain is limited, he was chosen by Philip II to replace in the Escorial the Martyrdom of St Maurice painted by El Greco. This commission indicates that he was highly valued among the court painters by Philip II.
Although declined to place El Greco’s Martyrdom of St Maurice on the altar of the Escorial church, for which it had originally been intended. Instead, he had a new painting on the same subject executed by Romulo Cincinnato. Since both works have survived, we can gain a good idea of the king’s points of criticism. Surprisingly, there is a great conformance between the two pictures in terms of composition, so we may assume that Cincinnato was asked follow El Greco’s model. A difference, on the other hand, is seen in Cincinnato’s stronger emphasis on the execution scene, which has been brought into the foreground.
