Peter Candid

Peter Candid also known as Peter de Witte (I) (other name variations: Peter de Wit, Pieter de Witte, Peter Candido, Pietro Candido) (c. 1548 – 1628) was a Flemish-born Mannerist painter, tapestry designer and draughtsman active in Italy and Bavaria where he worked for many courts.

He was born in Bruges and moved with his parents to Florence at the age of 10. His father was a tapestry weaver who had been hired by the newly opened Medici weaving workshop, the Arazzeria Medicea. Their original family name was de Witte, which they changed to Candido in Italy. Peter would use the family name Candid after he moved to Germany. Peter started his apprenticeship in the early 1560s under an unknown master.

The earliest known record of Candid's work as an artist is in relation to payment for a fresco made in Florence in 1569. He is first mentioned as a member of the 'Accademia del Disegno' in 1576. According to the 16th century biographer Karel van Mander who knew Candid when he visited Italy, Candid worked with Giorgio Vasari on the Sala Regia in the Vatican and on the cupola of the Florence Cathedral. In the period 1582 - 1583 he worked in Rome at the Sala Regia in the Vatican and then returned to Florence.

By 1586 he became employed at the court of Munich upon the recommendation of the sculptor Giambologna. He was first court painter to Duke William V of Bavaria and later Maximilian I of Bavaria. For the Duke and Elector Maximilian, Candid frescoed numerous buildings, including the Munich Residenz and Schleissheim Palace. In the period 1600 to 1628 he was the leading artist in Munich. He was also active as an art dealer and had business dealings with Philipp Hainhofer.

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