Kempener, Pieter de

Kempener, Pieter de (pē`tər də kĕm`pənər), c.1503–1580, Flemish painter, b. Brussels. He studied and painted for 10 years in Italy and about 1537 settled in Seville, Spain, where he was known as Pedro Campaña. For churches in Seville he painted religious pictures remarkable for the strong chiaroscuro and naturalistic detail that influenced the school of Seville. The development toward mannerism can be seen in the agitated movements and elongated figures of his masterpiece The Descent from the Cross in the Seville Cathedral. On his return to Brussels (1563) he became chief engineer to the duque de Alba and director of the tapestry works.