Domenico di Pace Beccafumi (1486May 18, 1551) was an Italian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

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 active predominantly in

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 centur ...

. He is considered one of the last undiluted representatives of the Sienese school of painting.

Biography

Domenico was born in Montaperti, near

, the son of Giacomo di Pace, a peasant who worked on the estate of Lorenzo Beccafumi. Seeing his talent for drawing, Lorenzo adopted him, and commended him to learn painting from Mechero, a lesser Sienese artist. In 1509 he traveled to Rome, where he learned from the artists who had just done their first work in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

, but soon returned to Siena. However, while the Roman forays of two Sienese artists of roughly his generation (

Il Sodoma Il Sodoma (1477 – 14 February 1549) was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of ...

and

Peruzzi The Peruzzi were bankers of Florence, among the leading families of the city in the 14th century, before the rise to prominence of the Medici. Their modest antecedents stretched back to the mid 11th century, according to the family's genealogist ...

) had imbued them with elements of the Umbrian-Florentine Classical style, Beccafumi's style remains, in striking ways, provincial. In Siena, he painted religious pieces for churches and of mythological decorations for private patrons, only mildly influenced by the gestured

trends dominating the neighboring

Florentine school Florentine painting or the Florentine School refers to artists in, from, or influenced by the naturalistic style developed in Florence in the 14th century, largely through the efforts of Giotto di Bondone, and in the 15th century the leading scho ...

. There are medieval eccentricities, sometimes phantasmagoric, superfluous emotional detail and a misty non-linear, often jagged quality to his drawings, with primal tonality to his coloration that separates him from the classic Roman masters.

Pavement of Duomo di Siena

In addition to painting, he also directed the celebrated pavement of the

cathedral of Siena A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

from 1517 to 1544, a task that took over a century and a half. The pavement shows vast designs in commesso work—white marble, that is, engraved with the outlines of the subject in black, and having borders inlaid with rich patterns in many colours. From the year Beccafumi was engaged in continuing this pavement, he made very ingenious improvements in the technical processes employed, and laid down scenes from the stories of

Ahab Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bib ...

and

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

, of Melchisedec, of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

and of Moses. He made a triumphal arch and an immense mechanical horse for the procession of the emperor Charles V on his entry into Siena.

Critical assessment and legacy

Compared to the equilibrated, geometric, and self-assured Florentine style, the Sienese style of painting edges into a more irrational and emotionally unbalanced world. Buildings are often transected, and perspectives awkward. The setting is often hallucinogenic; the colors, discordant. For example, in the ''Nativity'' ( Church of San Martino) hovering angels form an architectural hoop, and figures enter from the shadows of a ruined arch. In his ''Annunciation'', the Virgin resides in a world neither in day or dusk, she and the Angel Gabriel shine while the house is in shadows. In ''Christ in Limbo'' ( Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena), an atypically represented topic, Christ sways in contrapposto as he enters a netherworld of ruins and souls. S. J. Freedberg compares his vibrant eccentric figures to those of the Florentine

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 ...

contemporary

Rosso Fiorentino Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (8 March 1495 in Gregorian style, or 1494 according to the calculation of times in Florence where the year began on 25 March – 14 November 1540), known as Rosso Fiorentino (meaning "Red Florentine" in Italian) ...

, yet more "optical and fluid". While all the elements of the expected religious scenes are here, it is like a play in which all the actors have taken atypical costumes, and forgotten some of their lines. In Medieval Italy,

had been an artistic, economic, and political rival of

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

; but wars and natural disasters caused a decline by the 15th century. Stylistically, Beccafumi is among the last in a line of Sienese artists, a medieval believer of miracles awaking in Renaissance reality.

Partial anthology of works

*''The Miraculous Communion of St Catherine of Siena'' (1513) -

J. Paul 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 fea ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

*''Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata'' (1513) - J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles *'' Trinity Triptych'' (1513) - Oil on wood, 152 x 228 cm, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena *'' Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist'' (c.1514-1515) - Uffizi, Florence *''Marriage of St Catherine'' (1514–1515) - Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena *'' Bellanti Madonna'' (c.1515) - Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena *''

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

'' (1515) - Oil on wood, 190 x 150 cm, Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana, Siena *'' Marcia'' (1519), National Gallery, London * ''Stigmatization of St. Catherine of Siena'' (1515) - Oil on wood, 208 x 156 cm, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena *''The Betrothal of the Virgin'' (1518) - Fresco, 295 x 304 cm, Oratory of San Bernardino, Siena *''

Tanaquil Tanaquil ( Etruscan: ''Thanchvil'') was the queen of Rome by marriage to Tarquinius Priscus, fifth king of Rome. Life The daughter of a powerful Etruscan family in Tarquinii, Etruria, Tanaquil thought her husband would make a good leader, but s ...

'' (1519) - Oil on wood, 92 x 53 cm, National Gallery, London *''Self Portrait'' (1520) *'' The Story of Papirius'' (1520-1530) -National Gallery, London *''St. Lucy'' (1521) - Oil on wood, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena *''Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine'' (1521) - Hermitage, St. Petersburg *'' Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist'' (c.1521-1522) -

Galleria Palatina 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 presen ...

, Florence *Frescoes - Palazzo Bindi-Segardi, Siena *Frescoes of scenes from Roman history

Palazzo Pubblico The Palazzo Pubblico (''town hall'') is a palace in Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. Construction began in 1297 to serve as the seat of the Republic of Siena's government, which consisted of the Podestà and Council of Nine, the elected officia ...

, Siena (1529–1535) *''The Holy Family with Young Saint John'' (1523–1524) - Oil on panel, diameter 86 cm,

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. I ...

, Madrid * ''Fall of the Rebel Angels'' (c. 1524) -Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena * ''Fall of the Rebel Angels'' (c. 1528) - Oil on wood, 347 x 225 cm,

San Niccolò al Carmine, Siena San Niccolò al Carmine, also called Santa Maria del Carmine is a Renaissance style, Roman Catholic church and monastery located in Pian dei Mantellini #30, near the corner of Via della Diana in the Terzo de Citta of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy ...

*''

Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine The mystical marriage of Saint Catherine (or "Mystic") covers two different subjects in Christian art arising from visions received by either Catherine of Alexandria or Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), in which these virgin saints went through a ...

'' (1528) -

Palazzo Chigi-Saracini The Palazzo Chigi-Saracini is a Gothic urban palace on the Via di Città in the Terzo di Città in central Siena, Tuscany, Italy. It is the seat of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. It was built by the Marescotti family in the 12th century. It was ...

, Siena *''Vision of St. Catherine of Sienna'' (1528) -

Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his ...

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

*''The Baptism of Christ'' (1528) - Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa *''The Nativity'' -

Allentown Art Museum The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley is an art museum located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 19,000 ...

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...

*''Venus and Cupid with Vulcan'' (1528) -

New Orleans Museum of Art The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

*''Holy Family with St. John'' (c. 1530) -Oil on panel, diameter 84 cm, Uffizi, Florence *''Holy Family with Saint Anne'' - Private collection *'' Flight of Clelia and the Roman Virgins'' - Uffizi, Florence *'' Punishment of Dathan'' -

Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...

*''Drawing for Christ in Limbo'' (Stolen) * ''Christ in Limbo'' (1535) - Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena *'' Moses and the Golden Calf'' (1536–1537) - Oil on wood, 197 x 139 cm, Pisa Cathedral *''Saint Bernard of Siena Preaching'' (1537) -

Musée du 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 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

*''Saint Anthony and the Miracle of the Mule'' (1537) - Musée du Louvre, Paris *''Saint Francis receives the stigmata'' (1537) - Musée du Louvre, Paris *'' Coronation of the Virgin'' (1539) -Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena *''Birth of the Virgin'' (1543) - Oil on wood, 233 x 145 cm, Accademia, Siena *'' Sarteano Annunciation'' (c.1546) - Oil on canvas, San Martino in Foro,

Sarteano Sarteano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. Sarteano is particularly important from the historical point of view. Located betwe ...

*''Coronation of the Virgin'' (1540s) -

Santo Spirito, Siena Santo Spirito is a Renaissance style, Roman Catholic church located in piazza Santo Spirito, where Via dei Pispini meets Vicolo del Sasso, in Siena, Italy. History Building at the site was begun by the Biccherna for monks of the Silvestrine order ...

*''Madonna with infant and St. John'' (1540) - Oil on panel, 90 x 65 cm,

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica or National Gallery of Ancient Art is an art museum in Rome, Italy. It is the principal national collection of older paintings in Rome – mostly from before 1800; it does not hold any antiquities. It has two ...

, Rome *''Holy Family with Angels'' - National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC * ''Holy Family and St. John'' -

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pi ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

*Statues of Angels (1548–1550) - Presbytery of

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and ...

*''Judith with the Head of Holofernes'' - The Wallace Collection, London. * Drawing of Abraham * St. Peter - -Woodcut,

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

* Angels drawing (1524–25) -San Francisco

Gallery

File:Beccafumi Palazzo Pubblico 02.JPG, Frescoes at Palazzo Pubblico in Siena File:Domenico Beccafumi 001.jpg, ''Allegory of Concord'' (1532-1535) File:Domenico Beccafumi 002.jpg, ''Caritas'' (1532-1535) File:Domenico Beccafumi - Penelope - WGA01540.jpg, ''Penelope'' (1514) File:Domenico Beccafumi - Public Virtues of Greek and Roman Heroes- The Sacrifice of King Codron of Athens - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Sacrifice of King Codrus of Athens'' (1529 - 1535) File:Domenico Beccafumi 008.jpg, ''Tribune Publius Mucius Scaevola sends his allies to the stake'' (1532-1535) File:Domenico Beccafumi 048.jpg, ''Birth of Christ'' (1523-1524) File:Domenico Beccafumi - The Annunciation - WGA01551.jpg, Annunciation, ''The Annunciation'' (1545) File:Domenico Beccafumi - De heilige Catharina ontvangt de stigmata - 2898 (OK) - Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.jpg, '' Saint Catherine receives the

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

'' (1545) File:Domenico Beccafumi - Stigmatization of St Catherine of Siena - WGA01536.jpg, ''Stigmatization of St Catherine of Siena'' (1515) File:Beccafumi - Natività di Gesù, Museo Diocesano.jpg, ''Nativity of Jesus'',

Diocesan Museum A diocesan museum is a museum for an ecclesiastical diocese, a geographically-based division of the Christian Church. Austria: * Diocesan Museum, Graz, Styria * Gurk Treasury, Carinthia * Diocesan Museum, Linz, Upper Austria * Cathedral Mus ...

References

*''Painting in Italy 1500–1600'', S.J. Freedberg, (Penguin History of Art, 2nd Edition, 1983).

Notes

External links

Domenico Beccafumi in the "A World History of Art"

Domenico di Pace Beccafumi. paintings
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beccafumi, Domenico Italian Renaissance painters Italian Mannerist painters Painters from Siena 1486 births 1551 deaths Italian male painters People from Castelnuovo Berardenga 16th-century Italian painters