Sebastiano Del Piombo
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Sebastiano del Piombo (; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the
High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
and early
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 Italy, ...
periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian school in which he was trained with the monumental forms of the Roman school. He belongs both to the painting school of his native city, Venice, where he made significant contributions before he left for Rome in 1511, and that of Rome, where he stayed for the rest of his life, and whose style he thoroughly adopted. Born Sebastiano Luciani, after coming to Rome he became known as ''Sebastiano Veneziano'' or ''Viniziano'' ("Sebastian the Venetian"), until in 1531 he became the Keeper of the Seal to the Papacy, and so got the nickname ''del Piombo'' ("of the
Lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
") thereafter, from his new job title of ''piombatore''. Friends like Michelangelo and
Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
called him ''Fra Bastiano'' ("Brother Bastian"). Never a very disciplined or productive painter, his artistic productivity fell still further after becoming ''piombatore'', which committed him to attend on the pope most days, to travel with him and to take holy orders as a
friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
, despite having a wife and two children.Lucco He now painted mostly portraits, and relatively few works of his survive compared to his great contemporaries in Rome. This limited his involvement with the
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 Italy, ...
style of his later years. Having achieved success as a
lutenist A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can refe ...
in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
when young, he turned to painting and trained with
Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...
and
Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
. When he first went to Rome he worked alongside
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 ...
and then became one of the few painters to get on well with
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, who tried to promote his career by encouraging him to compete for commissions against Raphael. He painted portraits and religious subjects in oils, and once he was established avoided the large
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
schemes that took up so much of the time of Raphael and Michelangelo. His earlier career in both Venice and Rome was somewhat overshadowed by the presence of clearly greater painters in the same city, but after the death of Raphael in 1520 he became Rome's leading painter. His influence on other artists was limited by his lack of prominent pupils, and relatively little dissemination of his works in print copies.


Venice

Sebastiano del Piombo was probably born in Venice, though there is no certainty as to his background. His birthdate is extrapolated from
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, Sculpt ...
's statement that he was 62 at his death in 1547. That he was first known as a musician and singer may suggest an upper-middle-class background; the extent to which his playing on the
lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
and other instruments was professional is unclear.Lucco; Vasari Like his contemporary
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 ...
, his career was marked by his ability to get on well with both other artists and patrons. He began to train as a painter at a relatively late age, probably 18 or 20, so around 1503–05, becoming a pupil of
Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...
and probably afterwards of
Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
, both of whose influence is apparent in his works; Vasari's mention of their relationship is rather vague: "''si acconciò con Giorgione''". No signed or firmly documented works survive from his period painting in Venice, and many attributions are disputed. As with other artists, some of Sebastiano's works have long been confused with Giorgione's. Like
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
, he may have completed work left unfinished at Giorgione's death in 1510;
Marcantonio Michiel Marcantonio Michiel (1484–1552) was a Venetian noble from a family prominent in the service of the State who was interested in matters of art. His notes on the contemporary art collections of Venice, Padua, Milan and other northern Italian centr ...
says he finished ''
The Three Philosophers ''The Three Philosophers'' is an oil painting on canvas attributed to the Italian High Renaissance artist Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of ...
''. The earliest significant work attributed to him is a portrait of a girl in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, of about 1505. He is now usually assigned the unfinished and reworked ''Judgement of Solomon'' now at
Kingston Lacy Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent ow ...
. This dramatic and imposing picture, "one of the masterpieces of Venetian narrative painting", was also long attributed to Giorgione; it may have been abandoned about 1508, though the estimated dates vary in the period 1505–1510. After extensive restoration in the 1980s, removing later overpainting, the painting is now left with traces of the three different compositions visible; still more can be seen with
infra-red reflectography Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
. Still over 2 × 3 metres, it seems originally to have been even larger, with some 40 cm lost along the left edge. There are two versions of the elaborate architectural background, which was a recurrent interest of Sebastiano's Venetian period. The last setting is in a
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
, which may reflect a "more learned" picture intended for a building holding courts of justice. The figure at the front of the executioner, left without clothes or the baby, is clearly drawn from classical sculpture. Four standing figures of saints in niches on the organ-shutters of
San Bartolomeo, Venice San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholomew) is a church in Venice, Italy. It is near the Rialto Bridge in the ''sestiere'' (district) of San Marco. History The church was supposedly founded in 830, and was originally dedicated to Saint Demetrius of Thessa ...
, now in the
Gallerie dell'Accademia The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery o ...
in Venice, date from c. 1508–09, and are "very Giorgionesque", especially the pair on the insides. They were painted at the same time as Giorgione's frescos for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (now lost) just by the church, which was the German's church in Venice, and at this time also held
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
's '' Madonna of the Rose-Garlands'' of 1506. The outside pair of shutters also show what Sebastiano had learnt from Bellini. Their technique has developed "from the earlier smooth surface to the application of paint in heavy brushstrokes", and the figure of
Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Dioclet ...
shows awareness of classical sculpture. The main
altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
for San Giovanni Crisostomo, Venice of 1510–11 shows the patron saint,
Saint John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abu ...
reading aloud at a desk, a
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
looking out at the viewer, and two other female and three male saints. The organ-shutters for the church were also painted. The style shows developments "towards a new fullness of form and breadth of movement" that may have been influenced by the Florentine painter
Fra Bartolommeo Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo (, , ; 28 March 1472 – 31 October 1517), also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di S. Marco, and his original nickname Baccio della Porta, was an Italian Renaissance painter of religious subjects. ...
, who was in Venice in 1508. Aspects of the composition were also innovative, and later copied by Venetian painters, including even Titian. File:Retrato de dama joven, por Sebastiano del Piombo.jpg, ''Portrait of a Girl'' in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, c. 1505, one of his earliest paintings. File:DelPiombo-Sainte-famille-Louvre.jpg, ''
Sacra conversatione In art, a (; plural: ''sacre conversazioni''), meaning holy (or sacred) conversation, is a genre developed in Italian Renaissance painting, with a depiction of the Virgin and Child (the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus) amidst a group of saints ...
'', c. 1507,
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
File:Accademia - San Ludovico da Tolosa di Sebastiano del Piombo.jpg,
Saint Louis of Toulouse Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297), also known as Louis of Anjou, was a Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou and a Catholic bishop. Life Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, where ...
, from the inside of the organ-shutters of
San Bartolomeo, Venice San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholomew) is a church in Venice, Italy. It is near the Rialto Bridge in the ''sestiere'' (district) of San Marco. History The church was supposedly founded in 830, and was originally dedicated to Saint Demetrius of Thessa ...
. File:Sebastiano del piombo, pala di san giovanni crisostomo 01.jpg, Altarpiece at San Giovanni Crisostomo, Venice, 1510–11 File:Sebastiano del Piombo - The Daughter of Herodias - Google Art Project.jpg, Salome, or Judith, 1510


Rome


1511–1520

In 1511 the Papal banker
Agostino Chigi Agostino Andrea Chigi (29 November 1466 – April 11, 1520) was an Italian banker and patron of the Renaissance. Born in Siena, he was the son of the prominent banker Mariano Chigi, a member of the ancient and illustrious Chigi family. He moved ...
was the richest man in Rome, and a generous patron of the arts. Early in the year he was sent to Venice by
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
to buy Venetian support for the papacy in the
War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
. When he returned to Rome after a stay of some six months, he brought Sebastiano with him; Sebastiano was to remain based in Rome for the rest of his life. Sebastiano began by painting mythological subjects in
lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
s in the ''Sala di Galatea'' in Chigi's
Villa Farnesina The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy. Description The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Be ...
, under a ceiling just done by
Baldassarre Peruzzi Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi (7 March 1481 – 6 January 1536) was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena (in Ancaiano, ''frazione'' of Sovicille) and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and lat ...
. In these he already shows an adaption to Roman style, especially that of Michelangelo, whose
Sistine Chapel ceiling The Sistine Chapel ceiling ( it, Soffitto della Cappella Sistina), painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance Renaissance art, art. The Sistine Chapel is the large papal chapel built with ...
had just been completed. Probably the next year, he added a large ''
Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and lege ...
''. It is possible that Raphael's famous ''
Galatea Galatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white". Galatea, Galathea or Gallathea may refer to: In mythology * Galatea (Greek myth), three different mythological figures In the arts * ''Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', cantata by H ...
'' of 1514, which is in the next bay and now dominates the room, replaced a fresco by Sebastiano. A larger cycle on the lower walls was apparently intended, but abandoned, for reasons that are not clear. Sebastiano had also been producing
easel painting An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, easels are traditionally used by painters to support a painting while they work on it, normally ...
s from soon after his arrival, showing the development of his new style. A ''Death of
Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...
'' in the
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 ...
dates to about 1512–13, and shows that he "had achieved a working dialectic of Roman and Venetian classical styles", in which he "enlarged the proportion of his figures into an almost bulking massiveness, ponderous and sensuously splendid: idealizations, but of sensuous existence".Freedberg, 111 By about 1515, Sebastiano had befriended and allied himself with
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, who recruited him "as a kind of deputy for him in painting", he having returned to his backlog of promised projects in sculpture. Michelangelo's intention was for Sebastiano to "contest Raphael's first place" in painting in Rome, using at least in part ideas and designs supplied by Michelangelo, whose rivalry with Raphael had become intense. The intention may have been for a closer relationship than actually resulted, as in 1516 Michelangelo returned to
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 ...
, only returning occasionally to Rome for several years after. The first result of this collaboration was one of Sebastiano's most important paintings, a ''
Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
'' in
Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
. Here the composition is highly unusual for this common subject (which Michelangelo had famously sculpted in 1498–99), with Christ lying across the bottom of the picture space, at the feet of a Virgin looking up to Heaven, so that the two figures do not actually touch. Though no drawing survives, this was Michelangelo's conception, where "an idea of high tragic power is expressed with extreme simplicity in a structure of severe geometric rigour". The back of the panels have large sketches in
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
that seem to be by both artists. In 1516 he painted a similar subject, the '' Lamentation of Jesus'' (now
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
) using his own composition, and showing his awareness of Raphael's handling of groups of figures. These led a Florentine friend of Michelangelo, Pierfrancesco Borgherini, to commission Sebastiano to decorate a chapel in
San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain) is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative '' martyrium'' (tomb) built by Donato Bramante. History The Church of San Pietro in ...
in Rome; he no doubt hoped to get significant input from Michelangelo. There is a Michelangelo drawing of 1516 for the ''
Flagellation of Jesus The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the '' Life of C ...
'' in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, and other sketches; the final design survives only in a copy by
Giulio Clovio Giorgio Giulio Clovio or Juraj Julije Klović (1498 – 5 January 1578) was an illuminator, miniaturist, and painter born in the Kingdom of Croatia, who was mostly active in Renaissance Italy. He is considered the greatest illuminator of the It ...
after another Michelangelo drawing (
Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
). In the event there were a series of interruptions and Sebastiano did not complete the chapel until early 1524. The ''Flagellation'' is painted in oil on plaster. This was a method first practiced by
Domenico Veneziano Domenico Veneziano (c. 1410 – May 15, 1461) was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance, active mostly in Perugia and Tuscany. Little is known of his birth, though he is thought to have been born in Venice, hence his last name. He then moved ...
, and afterwards by other artists; but according to Vasari only Sebastiano succeeded in preventing the colours eventually blackening. The last major work of the period was the ''
Raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany (Latinised from Lazar, ultimately from Hebrew Eleazar, "God helped"), also venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, ...
'', now in the
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 ...
, which was commissioned in 1516 by Cardinal Giulio de Medici, archbishop of
Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...
in southern France, and the future
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 ...
, in blatant competition, engineered by Michelangelo, with a painting of the same size by Raphael, the '' Transfiguration''. Both were supposed to hang in
Narbonne Cathedral Narbonne Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne'') is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Narbonne, France. The cathedral is a national monument and dedicated to Saints Justus and Pastor. It was the seat of t ...
. Michelangelo supplied at least drawings for the figure of Lazarus and the two men supporting him (British Museum), but probably did not do any work on the painting itself, if only because he was only briefly in Rome during the time it was painted. When the two paintings were hung together in the Vatican, just after Raphael's death in 1520, both were praised, but the Raphael generally preferred, as has remained the case ever since. In the early 1520s Sebastiano completed the Borgherini Chapel with a ''Transfiguration'' in the semi-dome above his ''Flagellation''. The combination shows the influence of the '' Apocalipsis Nova'', a contemporary text that prophesied the coming of an "Angelic Pastor" who would bring a new age of peace. Michelangelo was among many reformist Catholics interested in the text. The ''Flagellation'' represents "the current, corrupted state of Christianity and the Transfiguration the glorious future to come". File:Adoración de los pastores, por Sebastiano del Piombo.jpg, '' Adoration of the Shepherds'', 1511–12,
Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...
, perhaps Sebastiano's first Roman easel painting. File:Sebastiano del Piombo 003.jpg, Ferry Carondelet with his Secretaries, 1512 File:Sebastiano del Piombo - View of the Loggia di Galatea - WGA21116.jpg, Sebastiano's ''
Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and lege ...
'' next to Raphael's ''
Galatea Galatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white". Galatea, Galathea or Gallathea may refer to: In mythology * Galatea (Greek myth), three different mythological figures In the arts * ''Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', cantata by H ...
'' in the
Villa Farnesina The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy. Description The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Be ...
. Two of his lunettes above. File:Sebastiano del piombo, pietà.jpg, The
Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
''
Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
'', c. 1515 File:Bajada de Cristo al Limbo (Sebastiano del Piombo).jpg, ''Descent into Limbo'', 1516, left wing of a triptych. File:Piombo (Llanto por Cristo muerto).jpg, The
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
'' Lamentation of Jesus'', 1516, centre part of the triptych. File:San Pietro in Montorio; Geisselung (Sebastiano del Piombo).jpg, The ''Flagellation'' in
San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain) is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative '' martyrium'' (tomb) built by Donato Bramante. History The Church of San Pietro in ...
, to a drawing by Michelangelo, 1516 or later. File:Piombo, Sebastiano del - The Visitation - 1518-19.jpg, The
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
''Visitation'', 1518–19 File:Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus.jpg, Portrait of a Man, Said to be
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
, 1519 File:Madona s rouškou, Sebastiano del Piombo (cropped).jpg, ''Madonna with the Veil'' (original version,
Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...
), c. 1525.M&S, 39


1520–1531

The death of Raphael in 1520, immediately before the exhibition of the two rival paintings intended for Narbonne, left Sebastiano clearly the leading painter operating in Rome. As his letters show, he immediately attempted to secure for himself the "Sala dei Pontefici", Raphael's next Vatican project, but was frustrated by Raphael's workshop, armed with the master's drawings, and his own inability to enlist Michelangelo's help, as the pope had told him to work exclusively on the long-promised
Tomb of Pope Julius II The Tomb of Pope Julius II is a sculptural and architectural ensemble by Michelangelo and his assistants, originally commissioned in 1505 but not completed until 1545 on a much reduced scale. Originally intended for St. Peter's Basilica, the str ...
. In the following years Sebastiano mostly avoided very large commissions for churches, and concentrated on portraits, where he had a considerable reputation, and religious
easel painting An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, easels are traditionally used by painters to support a painting while they work on it, normally ...
s, such as his ''Visitation'' for France (1518–19, now
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
), and his ''Madonna of the Veil'' (c. 1525), a very successful adaptation of Raphael's '' Madonna di Loreto''. To both of these types he brought his refined monumental classicism. His career in the decade was greatly impacted by outside events. In 1522 there was plague in Rome, and he may have left Rome for a long period; there is little evidence of his activity for over a year. In 1523 Giulio de Medici became
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 ...
, and thereafter Sebastiano seems to have been a part of Vatican court life. He painted a number of portraits of the pope, and other paintings for him. In 1527 he seems to have remained with the pope all through the horrors of the Sack of Rome and his nervous retreat to
Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...
, though he seems to have spent time in Venice in 1528 and perhaps 1529, his first known return there since 1511. This catastrophe brought to an end the High Renaissance epoch in Rome, scattering Raphael's workshop and the emerging Roman Mannerists, and largely destroying the confidence of patrons. In 1531 the death of the previous holder allowed Sebastiano to press Pope Clement for the lucrative office of the "''piombatore''", which he obtained after promising to pay a fixed sum of 300 scudi annually to the other main contender,
Giovanni da Udine image:Le Vite - Giovanni da Udine.jpg, 150px, Portrait in Vasari's Vite Giovanni Nanni, also Giovanni de' Ricamatori, better known as Giovanni da Udine (1487–1564), was an Italian painter and architect born in Udine. A painter also named ''Giov ...
, who was also a painter, from Raphael's workshop. To hold the position he had to take vows as a friar, despite having a wife and two children. After this his paintings, which are more often signed than dated, carry signatures such as "F(rater) Sebastianus Ven(etus)".Gould, 247; Lucco


1532–1547

Sebastiano's artistic output reduced after taking the court role, though possibly not by as much as Vasari suggests. Large projects, even of a single painting, could take many years to complete, as with a ''Pieta'' for Spain. This was the last piece where Michelangelo helped him with a drawing. Vasari, probably much influenced by Michelangelo, places great emphasis on Sebastiano's turning away from art for a comfortable life as a well-paid courtier from this point, but may overstate the reality. His friendship with Michelangelo came to an end in 1534, after a disagreement over the latter's ''
Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
'' in the
Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...
. Sebastiano encouraged the pope to insist that this picture should be executed in oil on plaster, the technique he had developed and used. The enormous wall was prepared with the smooth plaster needed for this, with Michelangelo apparently acquiescent. There may even have been the idea floated that Sebastiano might do the painting to Michelangelo's designs. Michelangelo may also have tried painting in oils on the smooth surface. It is clear that several months after the idea of using oils first appeared, Michelangelo finally and furiously rejected it, and insisted that the whole wall be re-plastered in the rough ''
arriccio Intonaco is an Italian term for the final, very thin layer of plaster on which a fresco is painted. The plaster is painted while still wet, in order to allow the pigment to penetrate into the intonaco itself. An earlier layer, called arriccio, is ...
'' needed as a base for fresco. It was on this occasion that he famously said that
oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
was "an art for women and for leisurely and idle people like Fra Sebastiano". Two late projects for churches were never finished by Sebastiano. A large altarpiece of the ''Birth of the Virgin'', still in
Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...
, Rome, was begun in the late 1530s but had to be finished after his death by Francesco Salviati. Before his death in 1541, the executor of Agostino Chigi's estate commissioned a large ''Visitation'' as a memorial, in
Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte. History The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482 ...
, Rome. It was still half-finished at Sebastiano's death in 1547, and was eventually removed in the 17th century. Fragments with some of the over life-size main figures are at
Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...
, in a style of impressive simplicity, the end point of a "tendency to over-generalize appearances and pictorial structures so that they verged on an effect of geometrical abstraction" that had been increasing apparent in his work since his early years in Rome. Vasari records that he died after a short illness on 14 June 1547, at the age of 62. His will directed that he be buried very simply in Santa Maria del Popolo, with the savings from not having an elaborate burial given to the poor.Vasari After efforts by
Daniele da Volterra Daniele Ricciarelli (; 15094 April 1566), better known as Daniele da Volterra (, ), was a Mannerist Italian painter and sculptor. He is best remembered for his association with the late Michelangelo. Several of Daniele's most important works ...
his remains were moved in 1561 to the predecessor of the Rome
Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...
. File:Sebastiano del Piombo - Vittoria Colonna (?) - Google Art Project.jpg, Said to be
Vittoria Colonna Vittoria Colonna (April 149225 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated, married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual circl ...
, by 1525, already showing a very simplified treatment of form. File:Sebastiano del Piombo – Portrait of Pope Clement VII (ca. 1526).jpg,
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 ...
, about 1526 File:Andrea Doria.jpg,
Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Repu ...
, 1526 File:Sebastiano del Piombo 007.JPG, ''A Lady as Saint Agatha'', after 1530, as signed with "F." for "Frate". Probably 1540s.


Technique

Sebastiano was trained in the Venetian tradition of rich, subtly varying, colours in oil painting. In the ''
Raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany (Latinised from Lazar, ultimately from Hebrew Eleazar, "God helped"), also venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, ...
'' (1517–1519) he used a very wide range of pigments, often in complicated mixtures, and the painting can be seen as a display of Venetian skill for the Roman critics, attempting to achieve "the greatest and most subtly varied range of colours ever seen in a single painting". He became less interested in colour as his career progressed, and many later works are rather sombre, with touches of bright colour. His early works generally use the Venetian technique of freehand underdrawing on the surface to be painted, no doubt following a relatively approximate sketch, as was his technique for the Kingston Lacy ''Judgement of Solomon''. But after some years in Rome he began to use full-size cartoons for frescos, which were pricked along the lines and then soot "pounced" through, to give dotted lines on the surface for the artist to follow. This technique, normal in Florence and Rome, was used in the fresco ''Transfiguration'' of the Borgherini Chapel, for which some pricked sheets survive. However, this was his last work in fresco. From early on he was innovative and ready to experiment in compositional details as well as technique, with a special interest in painting in oils on new surfaces, whether plaster, stone,
alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...
or
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
. Though tending to be dark, several of his works with these unorthodox backings have survived well. Though he often covered the whole surface, leaving no indication of the support, some of his paintings on mineral sheets leave the background unpainted. This is the case with a small head of Clement VII in
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 ...
, wearing the beard he always had as a
penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...
after the Sack of Rome. He made excellent drawings, nearly all as compositional sketches. He continued to prefer to draw on light blue paper in black chalk with white highlights, a Venetian habit. Few if any early ones survive, and he may have changed his methods to use more precise sketches under the influence of Michelangelo and Raphael. Few survive for his portraits. A
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
"curator's comment" on one of their late drawings notes: "As so often with Sebastiano's drawings, the first impression is one of unrhythmic dryness; but the suggestion of atmosphere, the sensitively drawn contemplative faces and the subtle use of reflected lights and tonal transitions leave no doubt that
his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...
is from his own hand.


Pupils

Sebastiano seems to have followed Michelangelo in painting with "no more than merely mechanical assistance" from a studio, and had no significant pupils formed in his style. Whether this was a cause or result of his avoidance of large compositions and his court office from the 1530s we cannot know.


Personal life and relationship with Michelangelo

The main sources for his personality and habits are Vasari and surviving letters, mostly to and from Michelangelo. Vasari knew Sebastiano, but probably not very well; although he had been compiling material for some time, the first edition of his ''Lives'' did not appear until 1550, after Sebastiano's death, and it is not clear if he had specifically discussed the biography with Sebastiano. He knew Michelangelo rather better, and his description of Sebastiano is probably heavily influenced by the hostile attitude Michelangelo had towards Sebastiano after 1534. Vasari takes up much of his ''Life'' bemoaning Sebastiano's supposed indolence and neglect of his artistic talent for a comfortable and convivial life, at least after 1531. Vasari says that in later life he lived in a fine house near the
Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars (''populus'' in Latin, ''pioppo'' in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del ...
, keeping a very good table, and often entertaining regular friends as well as visitors. He says he was always cheerful and humorous, and very good company. He became red-faced and rather fat, as the bearded portrait in the ''Lives'' suggests. As described above, he had become close to Michelangelo by about 1515. Though they eventually fell out, few people were able to remain on good terms with Michelangelo for a period of nearly twenty years. In 1519 Michelangelo became godfather to Sebastiano's first son, Luciano, after which Sebastiano addressed his letters to "My dearest ''compare''" ("godfather"). The relationship suffered a dip in 1520 when Sebastiano asked Michelangelo to write to
Cardinal Bibbiena Bernardo Dovizi of Bibbiena (4 August 1470 – 9 November 1520) was an Italian cardinal and comedy writer, known best as Cardinal Bibbiena, for the town of Bibbiena, where he was born. Biography He received a substantial literary training, ...
, a close friend of
Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...
, recommending Sebastiano for projects in the Vatican after Raphael's death. Michelangelo sent the letter a month or so later, which Sebastiano presented to the cardinal, without reading it. The letter was in very flippant terms, and Sebastianio complained that it became "practically the only topic of conversation at the Palace, and it makes everyone laugh". Nor did it work in getting Vatican commissions. In 1521 he acted as Michelangelo's agent in the installation of the ''Risen Christ'' or ''
Cristo della Minerva The ''Risen Christ'', ''Cristo della Minerva'' in Italian, also known as ''Christ the Redeemer'' or ''Christ Carrying the Cross'', is a marble sculpture by the Italy High Renaissance master Michelangelo, finished in 1521. It is in the church of ...
'' in Rome, which was botched by the assistant Michelangelo had sent. From 1525 there is a draft for an emotional letter by Michelangelo passing on praise for Sebastiano by one "Captain Cuio", who he had dined with. In 1531 Sebastiano writes a despondent letter describing how "I still don't feel I am the same Bastiano that I was before the Sack; I still don't feel in my right mind."M&S, 67 The relationship never recovered from the argument over the ''Last Judgement'' in 1534, described above.


Selected works

;Venetian period *''Judgement of Solomon'',
Kingston Lacy Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent ow ...
, c. 1505–1510, unfinished *Altarpiece in
San Giovanni Grisostomo, Venice San Giovanni Grisostomo (English: Saint John Chrysostom) is a small church in the ''sestiere'' or neighborhood of Cannaregio, Venice. The church was founded in 1080, destroyed by fire in 1475, then rebuilt starting in 1497 by Mauro Codussi and his ...
(c. 1509) * Organ-shutters of
San Bartolomeo, Venice San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholomew) is a church in Venice, Italy. It is near the Rialto Bridge in the ''sestiere'' (district) of San Marco. History The church was supposedly founded in 830, and was originally dedicated to Saint Demetrius of Thessa ...
, now
Gallerie dell'Accademia The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery o ...
, Venice *''Portrait of a Young Woman as a Wise Virgin'' (1510)
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
, Washington
*''Salome'' or ''Judith'', 1510,
National Gallery 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 ...
, London ;Roman period *''
Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and lege ...
'' (1511) – fresco,
Villa Farnesina The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy. Description The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Be ...
, Rome
*''The Metamorphosis'' (1511) – fresco,
Villa Farnesina The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy. Description The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Be ...
, Rome
*''Christ Carrying the Cross'', c. 1513–14,
Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It migh ...
*''Martyrdom of St. Agatha''
Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
,
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 ...
*''Portrait of a Man'' (c. 1515) – Oil on poplar, 115 x 94 cm, Museum of Fine Arts,
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
*''Portrait of a Girl'' (c. 1515) – Oil on wood, 52,5 x 42,8 cm, Museum of Fine Arts,
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
*''Portrait of a Warrior'' (c. 1515) *''Cardinal Bandinello Sauli, His Secretary, and Two Geographers'' (1516)
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
, Washington
*''Christ descending into Limbo''
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 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 ...
br>
/small>, 1516 *''Transfiguration'', ''Flagellation'', saints and prophets
San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain) is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative '' martyrium'' (tomb) built by Donato Bramante. History The Church of San Pietro in ...
, Rome
, 1516–1524 *''A Prophet Addressed by an Angel'' (1516–17)
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
, Washington
*''
Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
'' (c. 1517) – Panel painting, Museo Civico,
Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
, Italy
*'' The Raising of Lazarus (Sebastiano del Piombo), The Raising of Lazarus'' (1519)
National Gallery 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 ...
, London
*''Hoy Family'' (c. 1520)
Burgos Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos ( es, Santa Iglesia Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official n ...
*''Portrait of a Humanist'' (1520) National Gallery, Washington D.C.

/small> *'' Portrait of Andrea Doria'' (1526)
Galleria Doria Pamphilj The Doria Pamphilj Gallery is a large art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, between Via del Corso and Via della Gatta. The principal entrance is on the Via del Corso (until recently, the entrance to the gallery was f ...
, Rome
*''Portrait of
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 ...
'' (half-length, about 1526)
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
*''Portrait of
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 ...
'' (with beard, c. 1531) – Oil on Slate 105.4 x 87.6 cm
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, Los Angele

/small> *Portrait head of Clement VII on slate, c. 1531,
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 *''Birth of the Virgin'' – Oil on peperino,
Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...
, Rome
, never finished *''Christ Carrying the Cross'' (1535–1540) – Oil on slate, 157 x 118 cm, Museum of Fine Arts,
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
*''A Lady as Saint Agatha'', after 1530, as signed with "F." for "Frate". Probably 1540s,
National Gallery 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 ...
, London *''Visitation'', originally
Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte. History The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482 ...
, Rome, unfinished with 3 fragments now
Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...
, 1540s


Notes


References

* Sydney Joseph Freedberg, Freedberg, Sydney J. ''Painting in Italy, 1500–1600'', 3rd edn. 1993, Yale, *Hirst, Michael in Jane Martineau (ed), ''The Genius of Venice, 1500–1600'', 1983, Royal Academy of Arts, London. * Gould, Cecil, ''The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools'', National Gallery Catalogues, London 1975, *Roger Jones and
Nicholas Penny Sir Nicholas Beaver Penny (born 21 December 1949) is a British art historian. From 2008 to 2015 he was director of the National Gallery in London. Early life Penny was educated at Shrewsbury School before he studied English at St Catharine ...
, ''Raphael'', Yale, 1983, *Lucco, Mauro, "Sebastiano del Piombo",
Grove Art Online ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
, Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 1 Apr. 2017
subscription required
*"M&S": Exhibition handlist with captions for "Michelangelo & Sebastiano", 2017, National Gallery. Refs to catalogue numbers, or, if stated, sections. *"Sistine": Pietrangeli, Carlo, et al., ''The Sistine Chapel: The Art, the History, and the Restoration'', 1986, Harmony Books/Nippon Television, * Steer, John, ''Venetian painting: A concise history'', 1970, London: Thames and Hudson (World of Art), *
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, Sculpt ...

"Life of Sebastiano del Piombo"


Further reading

*Hirst, Michael, ''Sebastiano del Piombo'', 1981, Oxford UP *Matthias Wivel, Paul Joannides, Costanza Barbieri, ''Michelangelo & Sebastiano'', 2017, National Gallery Company Ltd., * *''Sebastiano del Piombo, 1485–1547'', exh. cat. by C. Strinati and B. W. Lindemann, 2008, Rome, Palazzo Venezia/Berlin, Gemäldegalerie * Strinati C., ''Sebastiano del Piombo 1485–1547'', 24 ORE Cultura, Milano 2008,


External links


''Michelangelo & Sebastiano''
exhibition to 25 June 2017, National Gallery, London
Sebastiano Luciani – La Piedad – Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli
{{Authority control Italian Renaissance painters Mannerist painters 1480s births 1547 deaths Italian male painters Painters from Venice 16th-century Venetian people 16th-century Italian painters