( fl 1539; d Turin, 20 Aug 1595). Italian painter. Probably a native of Faenza, although sometimes thought to have been from Pisa or Lucca, he worked in a Mannerist style and enjoyed a long and prolific career. Ardenti’s earliest known work is a Nativity in the parish church, Antraccoli, near Lucca, signed Alexander Ardentius faventinus and dated 1539. Other extant dated paintings bearing the same signature are the Virgin and Child with Saints (1565; Lucca, S Paolino), the Madonna of Mercy (1565; Lucca, S Salvatore) and an Assumption (1567; Sesto, parish church). The signature Alexander Ardentius lucensis appears on a canvas depicting St John the Baptist with SS Jerome and Joseph in the parish church, Lunata, near Lucca. About 1572, Ardenti moved to Turin where he was employed as a painter and sculptor to the Savoys, first by Duke Emanuel-Philibert (reg 1558–80) and then by his successor Duke Charles-Emanuel I (reg 1580–1630). Documents confirm Ardenti’s marriage in 1583 and a journey to Milan the following year. His widow and children received a pension after his death. While a noticeable hardness is evident in his work at Lucca, the Turin paintings reveal an affinity with the Roman school (Lanzi). Stylistic differences between some of the paintings possibly indicate the hands of two different artists, both named Alessandro Ardenti, perhaps a father and son (Sardini).