Domeniciiino, Or Domcuico Zampleri, an Italian painter, born in Bologna in 1581, died in Naples, April 15, 1641. His first master was Dionysius Calvart, from whose tyranny he took refuge in the school of the Carracci, of which, in spite of a natural timidity and a slowness which his fellow pupils attributed to stupidity, he was eventually considered the most distinguished pupil. He lived apart from men, and rarely went abroad save to make studies for future use. After studying the works of Correggio at Parma, he joined Annibale Carracci at Rome, and assisted him in decorating the Farnese palace. He soon after received commissions from Cardinals Borghese, Farnese, Aldobrandini, and others, for whom he painted works which increased his reputation, but raised a host of enemies. His picture of the "Communion of St. Jerome," now in the Vatican, which has been called second only to Raphael's "Transfiguration," was discovered to bear a slight resemblance to a composition on the same subject by Agostino Carracci, and Lanfranco, a former fellow pupil, took advantage of the fact to decry the picture and the artist. Domenichino was finally compelled by the jealousy of his rivals to retire to Bologna, whence he was recalled by Gregory XV. in a few years to become principal painter and architect in the pontifical palace.

Here he renewed his triumphs, and was invited to Naples to paint the chapel of St. Januarius, but died before the completion of his work, not without suspicion of poison. Among his chief works are the "Four Evangelists," in S. Andrea della Valle at Rome, " Adam and Eve," the "Martyrdom of St. Agnes," and "Diana and her Nymphs." His fresco paintings, of which the scenes from the life of the Virgin in the Duomo at Fano are the best specimens, are admirable. His landscapes, although rather decorative, are uniformly good. He never wholly freed himself from the mannerism of his school, and was defective in invention; but in the free conception of nature, and in the expression of emotion, he approaches nearer Raphael and his contemporaries than any of the eclectics. Many of his works have been engraved by Raphael Morghen and others.