Girolamo Muziano, 1556 - Ressurreição de Lázaro

Girolamo Muziano or Mutiani (c. 1532 – 1592), was an Italian painter, one of the most prominent artists active in Rome in the mid-to-late sixteenth century.

Life

He was born in

Acquafredda Acquafredda (Brescian: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , ...

, near

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

, but active mainly in

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 ...

. The accounts from the 16th to 20th centuries regarding Muziano's life said he began work under the tutelage of

Romanino Girolamo Romani, known as Romanino (c. 1485 - c. 1566), was an Italian High Renaissance painter active in the Veneto and Lombardy, near Brescia. His long career brought forth several different styles. Biography Romani was born in Brescia. Hi ...

, an imitator of

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), ...

. Yet, a nearly autobiographical story of Muziano written by his confessor (unpublished until 1954) indicates instead that Muziano was born in Brescia, and left this town as a young man, and that his first apprenticeship was under

Domenico Campagnola Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500–1564) was an Italian painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut of the Venetian Renaissance, but whose most influential works were his drawings of landscapes. Life and work Born probably in Venice, he w ...

and

Lambert Sustris Lambert Sustris (c. 1515-1520 – c. 1584) was a Dutch painter active mainly in Venice. The works Sustris completed in Italy exhibit either a Mannerist style or qualities that may be deemed proto-baroque. He is also referred to as ''Albert ...

in 1544–46 in the town of Padua. He then spent time in Venice until 1549, but moved permanently to

about 1550. He was known there as ''Il giovane dei paesi'' (the young man of the landscapes), but although he continued to draw and paint landscapes throughout his career, he aspired instead to grand manner figure painting. He painted historical painting in a style based largely on

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 ins ...

, giving great prominence to the monumental

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having i ...

of his figures, even in works with ascetic saints as their subject. His ''Resurrection of Lazarus'' (1555) was painted for the Colonna palace in Subiaco. It established his fame; Michelangelo himself pronounced its author one of the "first artists of that age". The painting was later placed in the church of

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...

above the artist's tomb; it was afterwards transferred to the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...

, and now is 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 ...

Pinacoteca. The painting returns to a spatial organization and narrative composition more typical of the High Renaissance than of Muziano's Mannerist contemporaries. Muziano came to be the leading artist in Rome during the 1570-80s, painting in a style that appealed to Counter-Reformation patrons. He worked for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este from 1560 to 1566, and his frescoes for the Cardinal's villas in

Tivoli Tivoli may refer to: * Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli Buildings * Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855 * Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), ...

could be seen in

Villa d'Este The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO World Her ...

. His most noted paintings include ''Circumcision,'' formerly the high altarpiece in the

church of the Gesù , image = Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Giacomo della Porta's façade, precursor of Baroque , mapframe = yes , mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a full ...

(although now removed to a corridor behind the sacristy), paintings for three chapels in

Santa Maria in Aracoeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. ...

, and ''St Jerome preaching to Monks in the Desert'' in Santa Maria degli Angeli. This last painting was one of two altarpieces that Muziano painted for

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

during the time when Muziano served as superintendent of works for

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

(the other painting, a "Mass of St. Basil" is lost, although it is recorded in an etching by

Jacques Callot Jacques Callot (; – 1635) was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine (an independent state on the north-eastern border of France, southwestern border of Germany and overlapping the southern Netherlands). He is an impor ...

). Muziano also designed mosaics for the Gregorian Chapel in the basilica, and was responsible for re-founding the ''Academy of St Luke'' (

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 ...

) in Rome (1577). His works can also be seen in

Santa Caterina dei Funari Santa Caterina dei Funari is a church in Rome in Italy, in the rione of Sant'Angelo. The church is mainly known for its façade and its interior with frescoes and paintings. History The church is located where the Castro Aureo of the Circus Flam ...

, the Palazzo Colonna (''portrait of Vittoria Colonna''), the Cathedral Museum of

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 comp ...

, and the church of San Francesco in

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated wit ...

. He died in 1592, and was buried in the church of

. Among his pupils were

Paolo Rossetti Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter * Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American ...

of Cento and

Cesare Nebbia Cesare Nebbia (c.1536–c.1614) was an Italian painter from Orvieto who painted in a Mannerist style. Biography Nebbia was born in Orvieto. He trained with Girolamo Muziano, and under this master, he helped complete a flurry of decoration th ...

.Il microcosmo della pittura
by Francesco Scannelli; Cesena (1657); page 191-192.

Anthology of works

*''Christ greets the Ambassadors of John the Baptist'' - Museo antico Tesoro- Loreto *''Landscape with waterfall'' (drawing

*Three painting

Image:Hercules with Nemean Lion - Labor -1 - Girolamo Muziano - 1565 - Sala di Ercole - Villa d'Este, Tivoli.jpg, '' Nemean Lion, Hercules slaying Nemean Lion – First Labor'' (1565),

, Tivoli. Image:Hercules with Lernean Hydra - Labor -2 -Girolamo Muziano - 1565 - Sala di Ercole - Villa d'Este, Tivoli.jpg, '' Hercules slaying Lernaean Hydra – Second Labor'' (1565),

, Tivoli. Image:Hercules steals the Apples of the Hesperides - Labor -12 -Girolamo Muziano - 1565 - Sala di Ercole - Villa d'Este, Tivoli.jpg, '' Hercules steals the Apples of the Hesperides – Twelfth Labor'' (1565),

, Tivoli. Image:Hercules slays the Stymphalian Birds - Labor -6 -Girolamo Muziano - 1565 - Sala di Ercole - Villa d'Este, Tivoli.jpg, '' Hercules slays the Stymphalian Birds – Sixth Labor'' (1565),

, Tivoli. Image:Hercules captures Cretan Bull - Labor -7 -Girolamo Muziano - 1565 - Sala di Ercole - Villa d'Este, Tivoli.jpg, '' Hercules captures Cretan Bull – Seventh Labor'' (1565),

, Tivoli. Image:Apotheosis of Hercules - Girolamo Muziano - 1565 - Sala di Ercole - Villa d'Este, Tivoli.jpg, '' Apotheosis of Hercules'' (1565),

, Tivoli.

References

;Attribution

Sources

External links

Italy cyberguide entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muziano, Girolamo 1530s births 1592 deaths Artists from the Province of Brescia 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Renaissance painters Painters from Rome