Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

painter and printmaker active in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, and his native city of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. His work is characterized by a "refined sensuality" and often elongation of forms and includes ''

Vision of Saint Jerome The ''Vision of Saint Jerome'' is a painting by the Italian Mannerist artist Parmigianino, executed in 1526–1527. It is now in the National Gallery, London, United Kingdom. History The work was commissioned on 3 January 1526 in Rome, by Maria ...

'' (1527) and the iconic if somewhat anomalous ''

Madonna with the Long Neck ''The Madonna with the Long Neck'' ( it, Madonna dal collo lungo), also known as ''Madonna and Long Child with Angels and St. Jerome'', is an Italian Mannerist oil painting by Parmigianino, dating from c. 1535-1540 and depicting Madonna and Child ...

'' (1534), and he remains the best known artist of the first generation whose whole careers fall into the Mannerist period. His prodigious and individual talent has always been recognised, but his career was disrupted by war, especially the Sack of Rome in 1527, three years after he moved there, and then ended by his death at only 37. He produced outstanding drawings, and was one of the first Italian painters to experiment with printmaking himself. While his portable works have always been keenly collected and are now in major museums in Italy and around the world, his two large projects in fresco are in a church in Parma and a palace in a small town nearby. This in conjunction with their lack of large main subjects has resulted in their being less well known than other works by similar artists. He painted a number of important portraits, leading a trend in Italy towards the three-quarters or full-length figure, previously mostly reserved for royalty. Parmigianino, pala di bardi

Early years

Parmigianino was the eighth child of

Filippo Mazzola Filippo Mazzola (1460 - 1505) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. He was born in Parma, his father was Bartholomew, and he became a pupil of Francesco Tacconi. He worked mainly in the area between Parma and Piacenza. There is docume ...

and one Donatella Abbati. His father died of the plague two years after Parmigianino's birth, and the children were raised by their uncles, Michele and Pier Ilario, who according to

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

were modestly talented artists.Vasari, Giorgio (Bull, George, translator) (1988). ''Lives of the Artists: Volume 2'', pp. 185–99. Penguin Classics. . In 1515, his uncle received a commission from Nicolò Zangrandi for the decoration of a chapel in San Giovanni Evangelista; a work later completed by a young Parmigianino. By the age of eighteen, he had already completed the '' Bardi Altarpiece''. In 1521, Parmigianino was sent to

Viadana Viadana may refer to: Surname * Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560 – 1627), Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar * Gilberto Viadana (born 1973), Italian figure skater Other * Viadana, Lombardy, a town in the province of Mantua, Lom ...

(along with painter

Girolamo Bedoli Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli (c. 1500–1569) was an Italian painter active in the Mannerist style. Biography Bedoli was born in Parma in a family coming from Viadana in Lombardy. He was a near contemporary of Parmigianino, and after the early death ...

who was to marry his cousin) to escape the wars between the French, Imperial, and papal armies. In Viadana, he painted two panels in

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

, depicting Saint Francis for the church of the Frati de' Zoccoli, and the ''Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine'' for San Pietro. He also worked in San Giovanni and met

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

, who was at work on the fresco decorations of the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

Work in Fontanellato and travel to Rome

Parmigianino, visione di san girolamo 03

In 1524, he traveled to Rome with five small paintings, including the ''

Circumcision of Jesus The circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, which states: And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, his name was called Jesus, the name called by the angel before ...

'' and his ''

Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror ''Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror'' (c. 1524) is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. History The work is mentioned by Late Renaissance art biographer Gi ...

'', seeking patronage of the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

pope,

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

. Vasari records that in Rome, Parmigianino was "celebrated as a

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. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

reborn". In January 1526, Parmigianino and his uncle, Pier Ilario, agreed with Maria Bufalina from

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north of ...

, to decorate the church of San Salvatore in Lauro with an altarpiece of the ''

'' (1526–27, National Gallery, London). Within a year, the Sack of Rome caused Parmigianino, and many other artists, to flee.

Bologna and return to Parma

He resided in

for nearly three years. At around 1528, he painted the ''Madonna and Child with Saints'' (Pinacoteca, Bologna), then later in 1528, he painted ''Madonna con la Rosa'' (Dresden) and ''Madonna with Saint Zachariah'' (Uffizi). By 1530 Parmigianino had returned to Parma. In 1531, Parmigianino received a commission for two altarpieces, depicting Saint Joseph and

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, from the unfinished church of Santa Maria della Steccata. The brotherhood overseeing the church advanced him salary and promised him the supplies and materials; however, by 1535, the project was unfinished. In December, he nominated Don Nicola Cassola, a Parman cleric at the Roman

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

, to act as his legal representative. Parmigianino authorized him to collect the 50 gold ''scudi'' from Bonifazio Gozzadini for the ''Madonna with St. John the Baptist and St. Zacharias''. In 1534, it was decided that the ''Madonna dal collo lungo'' (the ''Madonna with the Long Neck'') would hang in the chapel of the family of Elena Baiardi. Parmigianino had probably expected to succeed Correggio in the favour of the church. However, in April 1538, the administrative offices commissioned initially Giorgio Gandini del Grano, then

, to decorate the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

and

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

of the

Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. ...

. It is believed that at this time, he became a devotee of

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

. Vasari hypothesizes that this was due to his fascination with

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. Scholars now agree that Parmigianino's scientific interests may have been due to his obsession with trying to find a new medium for his etchings. As a result of his alchemical researches, he completed little work in the church. He was imprisoned for two months for breach of contract after the Confraternita decided unanimously to ban him from continuing in their church. He was replaced between 1539 and 1540 by

Giulio Romano Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-cent ...

, who also promptly withdrew from the contract. Parmigianino died of a fever in

Casalmaggiore Casalmaggiore ( Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, Lombardy, Italy, located across the Po River. It was the birthplace of Italian composers Ignazio Donati and Andrea Zani. It became worldwide famous thanks to its ...

on 24 August 1540 at the age of 37 years. He is buried in the church of the Servite Friars "naked with a cross made of cypress wood on his chest". Among those closely influenced by Parmigianino were his cousin Girolamo Mazzuoli and Girolamo's son Alessandro Mazzuoli; Pomponeo Amidano; Giacomo Bertoia; and Francesco Borgani.

Works

Parmigianino was also an early Italian

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

, a technique that was pioneered in Italy by

Marcantonio Raimondi Marcantonio Raimondi, often called simply Marcantonio (c. 1470/82 – c. 1534), was an Italian engraver, known for being the first important printmaker whose body of work consists largely of prints copying paintings. He is therefore a key figu ...

, but which appealed to draughtsmen. Though the techniques of printing the copper plates required special skills, the ease with which acid, as a substitute for ink, could reproduce the spontaneity of an artist's hand attracted Parmigianino, a "master of elegant figure drawing".Michelle Leicht, "Correggio and Parmigianino", exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001
on-line review
Parmigianino also designed

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

s, and although his output was small he had a considerable influence on Italian

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

. Some of his prints were done in collaboration with Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio.

Selected works

*''

Baptism of Christ The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Beth ...

'' (c. 1519) – Oil on wood, 197 x 137 cm –

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin The Gemäldegalerie (, ''Painting Gallery'') is an art museum in Berlin, Germany, and the museum where the main selection of paintings belonging to the Berlin State Museums (''Staatliche Museen zu Berlin'') is displayed. It was first opened in ...

*'' Bardi Altarpiece'' (1521) – Tempera on panel, 203 x 130 cm; Church of Santa Maria, Bardi *''Saint Barbara'' (1522) – Oil on Wood, 48 x 39 cm –

Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

, Madrid. *''

'' (c. 1523) – Oil on wood, 42 x 31.4 cm;

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...

*''

'' (c. 1524) – Oil on wood, diameter 24.4 cm; Kunsthistorisches Museum,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

*'' Portrait of a Collector'' (c. 1524) – Oil on panel, 86 x 94 cm,

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

*''

Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale ''Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale'' (1524) is a painting of the condottiero Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. History Parmigianino work ...

'' (1524) – Oil on panel, 109 x 81 cm,

Museo di Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italia ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

*'' Portrait of Lorenzo Cybo ''(1524) – Oil on panel, 126 x 104 cm,

Statens Museum for Kunst The National Gallery of Denmark ( da, Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as "SMK", literally State Museum for Art) is the Danish national gallery, located in the centre of Copenhagen. The museum collects, registers, maintains, researches and han ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

*''Myth of Diana and Acteon'' (c. 1524) – fresco, Rocca Sanvitale,

Fontanellato Fontanellato (Parmigiano dialect, Parmigiano: ) is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the Autostrada A1 (Italy), A1 autostrada, about west of Parma towards Piacenza. The town was ...

, Province of Parma *''The Holy Family with Angels'' (c. 1524) – Oil on panel, 110 x 89 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid. *'' Antea'' (c. 1524–7) – Oil on canvas, 135 x 88 cm, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples *''Madonna and Child'' (1525) – Galleria Doria-Pamphili,

*''

'' (1526–1527) – Oil on panel, 343 x 149 cm, National Gallery, London *''

Conversion of Saint Paul The conversion of Paul the Apostle (also the Pauline conversion, Damascene conversion, Damascus Christophany and the "road to Damascus" event) was, according to the New Testament, an event in the life of Saul/Paul the Apostle that led him to ce ...

'' (c. 1527) – Oil on canvas, 177.5 x 128.5 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna * '' Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist'' (c.1528) – National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples *'' The Mystical Marriage of St Catherine'' (1529) – Oil on panel, 74.2 x 57.2 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Turkish Slave'' (''Portrait of a Lady''; c. 1533) – Oil on panel, 67 x 53 cm, Galleria Nazionale di Parma *''

Cupid Making His Arch ''Cupid Making His Bow'' (c. 1533–1535) is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. History The work appears in the inventory of Francesco Baiardo in Parma, ...

'' (c. 1533–1535) – Oil on panel, 135 x 65.3 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna *''

'' (1534–40) – Oil on wood, 216 x 132 cm,

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

*''

Portrait of Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo ''Portrait of Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo'' is a painting by the Italian Mannerist artist Parmigianino, executed around 1535–1539 and housed in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. The subject was Count of San Secondo, and the painting fo ...

'' (c. 1535–1539) – Oil on panel, 133 x 98 cm, Museo del Prado,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

*''

Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga and Her Three Sons ''Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga and Her Three Sons'' is a painting attributed to the Italian Mannerist artist Parmigianino and his workshop, executed around 1535–1537 and housed in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. It forms a pair with another p ...

'' (c. 1539–1540) – Oil on panel, 128 x 97 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid

Notes

References

* Hartt, Frederick, ''History of Italian Renaissance Art'', (2nd edn.)1987, Thames & Hudson (US Harry N Abrams), *''Parmigianino'',

Cecil Gould Cecil Hilton Monk Gould (24 May 1918 – 7 April 1994) was a British art historian and curator who specialised in Renaissance painting. He was a former Keeper and Deputy Director of the National Gallery in London. Life Born in London in 1 ...

. *''Parmigianino: The Paintings'', Mary Vaccaro. *''Parmigianino: The Drawings'', Sylvie Beguin et al. *''The Story of Art'', E.H. Gombrich, London : Phaidon Press, Ltd., 1995
''Parmigianino and European Mannerism'' Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
in English

External links

Parmigianino's biography, style and artworksParmigianino Biography at the National GalleryParmigianino Gallery at MuseumSyndicate''Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Parmigianino (see index) * {{Authority control Italian etchers 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Artists from Parma Mannerist painters 1503 births 1540 deaths Catholic painters Catholic etchers