Cresti was born in
Passignano, currently a
frazione of
Barberino Tavarnelle about 30 km south of Florence, and was educated by the local
Vallombrosan monks. He started his works in the stylized Tuscan manner, working with
Giovanni Battista Naldini and
Girolamo Macchietti. After travelling from
Rome to
Venice (1581–1589), he came under the influence of
Tintoretto's style. He had travelled to Venice as an assistant to
Federico Zuccari, who had employed him previously in the completion of
Giorgio Vasari's
The Last Judgment on the ceiling of the dome of
Florence Cathedral. He was known to paint with great speed; however, as he used less paint in order to work quickly, most of his works have been severely damaged by time. As a result of this gift, he was nicknamed Passa Ognuno ("[He] Passes Everyone") – a possible play upon the name of his birthplace. In Florence, he painted
frescoes of the
Translation and
Funeral of Saint Antoninus (1589) for the Cappella Salviati in
San Marco and
Preaching of John the Baptist (1590) for
San Michele Visdomini. He painted a
Nativity (1594) for
Lucca's
Duomo di San Martino. Other works by Passignano can be found in the church of
Sant'Andrea della Valle (Barberini Chapel), the
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Baptistery ceilings) and
Santa Maria in Vallicella (altarpiece of the Chapel of the Annunciation) in Rome,
San Frediano in
Pisa, in the
Uffizi Gallery, and his
Our Lady of the Jacobins (1630) in the
Besançon Cathedral. In addition, he painted famous portraits of
Galileo and
Michelangelo. He also painted frescoes for the Vallumbrosan
Badia di Passignano in his hometown. Among his pupils were the brothers
Valore and Domenico Casini,
Pietro Sorri,
Cesare Dandini, and
Pietro Ricchi. Passignano died at Florence in 1638. == Selected works ==