Lo Spagna (died ''c.'' 1529), "the Spaniard" in Italian, was a painter of the High Renaissance, active in central Italy. His name was Giovanni di Pietro, but he was known as ''Lo Spagna'' because he was born in Spain. After

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, he was a main pupil and follower of the

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

n painter

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

, whose style his paintings develop. He should not be confused with Pietro di Giovanni D'Ambrogio of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. Lo Spagna is known for a number of major works completed in the region, that include the ''Birth of the Virgin'' from Spineta in

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

, the ''Adoration of the Magi'' of Ferentillo and the ''Nativity'' of St Anthony in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

. Lo Spagna married Santina Martorelli from one of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

's leading families and here he was nominated ''Capitano delle Arti dei Pittori e degli Orefici'' in 1517. He died in 1528, possibly of the plague. Giovanni di Pietro completed the decoration of the apse and two chapels of the church of ''San Giacomo'' in

. The records indicate that some thirty inhabitants of the parish contributed payment for the work, which was completed in 1526. The apse vault is frescoed with the ''Coronation of the Virgin and St James'', while after Lo Spagna's death the chapel frescoes were completed by pupils,

Dono Doni Dono Doni, also known as Adone Doni or Dono dei Doni (1505-1575) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period active mainly in Umbria. Biography Doni was born at Assisi. While is said by Lanzi and others to have been a disciple of Pietro P ...

and

Cecco di Bernardino Cecco is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cecco Angiolieri (1260–1312), Italian poet *Cecco Bravo (1601–1661), Italian painter of the Florentine Baroque school *Cecco d'Ascoli (1257–1327), Italian encyclopaedist ...

of Assisi. The ''Madonna and Child in Glory with St Sebastian and St Rocco'' on the far wall of the church of Campello sul Clitunno was completed by one of his pupils from a preparatory drawing by ''Lo Spagna''. The apse of the church of San Giovanni Battista in the small village of

Eggi Eggi or Eggen is a mountain in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain is located in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The mountain sits about southwest of the village of Vågåmo and about ...

contains a fresco completed by a hand from ''Lo Spagna''’s studio working from a drawing by the artist. For the church of San Martino, ''Lo Spagna'' completed the large altar-piece of ''Coronation of the Virgin'', (1522), which today hangs in the Museo Civico of Trevi. For the church of ''Madonna delle Lacrime'' was ''Lo Spagna'' to complete the fresco decorations in the chapel dedicated to St Francis (1518). Around 1520 ''Lo Spagna'' decorated the first altar to the right of the church of Sant’Agostino in Visso with frescoes, now found in the ''Collegiata di Santa Maria''. ''Lo Spagna'' painted a fresco cycle for the parish church of ''San Michele Arcangelo'' in Gavelli, a hamlet in the township of

Sant'Anatolia di Narco Sant'Anatolia di Narco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 60 km southeast of Perugia, in the middle Valnerina valley. It is a medieval town commanded by a 12th-century castle, ...

near Perugia. The famous ''

Sposalizio :''The painting which inspired this piece of music is also sometimes called the Sposalizio; for it, see Sposalizio (painting).'' Sposalizio is the title of the first piece in Franz Liszt's '' Deuxième Année de Pèlerinage: Italie'' (Second Yea ...

'', or Marriage of Joseph and Mary, in the museum at

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

, is now credited to Lo Spagna. The Capitoline Museums in Rome now possess a very beautiful series of life-sized fresco figures by him, representing ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and the Nine Muses''. Lo Spagna had various pupils and followers, among them

Bernardino Campilius Bernardino Campilius was an Italian painter and follower of Lo Spagna at Spoleto. His name was written beneath a fresco of ''The Virgin adoring the Infant'' on the Piazza San Gregorio at Spoleto, and bears the date of 1502. References

* Ye ...

Gallery

File:Lo Spagna - Vierge à l'Enfant.jpg, Madonna and Child (date unknown), the Louvre, Paris File:Giovanni lo spagna, adorazione dei magi.JPG, Adoration of the Magi (date unknown), Pinacoteca Vaticana File:Frama AssSC037.JPG, Madonna and child with saints and angels (1516) Treasure Museum, Assisi

References

External links

*Review of exhibition: ''Giovanni di Pietro, un pittore spagnolo fra Perugino e Raffaello'' (May 29 – August 1, 200

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietro (Lo Spagna), Giovanni Di 1529 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Renaissance painters Umbrian painters Year of birth unknown Fresco painters