Perino (or Perin) del Vaga (nickname of Piero Bonaccorsi) (1501 – October 19, 1547) was an Italian painter and draughtsman of the Late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

Mannerism 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 Ital ...

Biography

Perino was born near

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 ...

. His father ruined himself by gambling, and became a soldier in the invading army of Charles VIII. His mother died when he was but two months old; but shortly afterwards he was taken up by his father's second wife. Perino was first apprenticed to a druggist, but soon passed into the hands of a mediocre painter, Andrea de' Ceri,Noted in Vasari's biography. and when eleven years of age, of

Ridolfo Ghirlandaio Ridolfo di Domenico Bigordi, better known as Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (14 February 1483 – 6 June 1561) was an Italian Renaissance painter active mainly in Florence. He was the son of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Biography He was born in Florence. Since he ...

. Perino was one of Ghirlandaio's most talented pupils. Another mediocre painter, Vaga from Toscanella, undertook to settle the boy 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 ...

. Perino, when he at last reached Rome, was utterly poor, and with no clear prospect beyond journey-work for trading decorators. He was eventually entrusted with some of the subordinate work undertaken by

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

in the Vatican. He assisted

Giovanni da Udine 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 ''Giovanni da Udine'' was exiled from his na ...

in the stucco and arabesque decorations of the Loggie Vaticane, and executed some of those small but finely composed scriptural subjects which go by the name of Raphael's Bible, Raphael himself furnishing the designs. Perino's examples are: ''Abraham and Isaac'', ''Jacob wrestling with the Angel'', ''Joseph and his Brothers'', the ''Hebrews crossing the Jordan'', ''Fall and Capture of Jericho'', ''Joshua commanding Sun to stand still'', ''Birth of Christ'', ''Baptism and the Last Supper''. Some of these are in bronze-tint, while others are in full color. He also painted, after Raphael's drawings, figures of the planets in the great hall of the Appartamenti Borgia. Perino was soon regarded as his major assistant, second only to

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

. To Raphael himself he was always exceedingly attentive. His solo works in the city include the hall of

Palazzo Baldassini Palazzo Baldassini is a palace in Rome, Italy, designed by the Renaissance architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger in about 1516–1519. It was designed for the papal jurist from Naples, Melchiorre Baldassini. The ground floor was used for sho ...

(1520–1522), a noble building in the center of the city, and the ''Pietà'' in the church of

Santo Stefano del Cacco Santo Stefano de Pinea or more commonly Santo Stefano del Cacco is a church in Rome dedicated to Saint Stephen, located at Via di Santo Stefano del Cacco 26. Name The name "del Cacco" may refer to the Roman deity Cacus, or more likely to a stat ...

. After Raphael's death in 1520 and the plague of 1523, a troubled period ensued for Perino. He returned to

, and befriended Rosso Fiorentino and executed an admirable design of ''10,000 Martyrs'' (now lost).

Work in Genoa

In 1527,

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 Rep ...

invited Perino to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

to decorate the newly rebuilt . Work commenced in 1529, with Perino employing a style similar to that of

in the Mantuan

Palazzo Te or is a palace in the suburbs of Mantua, Italy. It is a fine example of the mannerist style of architecture, and the acknowledged masterpiece of Giulio Romano. Although formed in Italian, the usual name in English of Palazzo del Te is not t ...

. The finished palace contained frescoes of mythological and historical subjects, augmented by fanciful and graceful arabesque work and by sculptural details in stucco. Among the principal works are: the ''War between the Gods and Giants'', ''Horatius Cocles defending the Bridge'', and the ''Fortitude of Mutius Scaevola''. The most important work of all, the ''Shipwreck of Aeneas'', is no longer extant. Perino also executed numerous altarpieces and designs for tapestries, rapidly founding a quasi-Roman school of art in the Ligurian city. He made two visits to

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...

, and began some painting in the cathedral. A year later, Perino returned to Rome and frescoed the Pucci Chapel in the

Trinità dei Monti The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called merely the Trinità dei Monti ( French: ''La Trinité-des-Monts''), is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church in Rome, central Italy. It is best known for its position abo ...

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

granted him a regular salary. He retouched many works of Raphael. He painted the decoration for the Pauline Chapel and other halls of

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

, some frescoes in the church of San Marcello, a monochrome in the

Stanza della Segnatura The four Raphael Rooms ( it, Stanze di Raffaello) form a suite of reception rooms in the Apostolic Palace, now part of the Vatican Museums, in Vatican City. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Together with Mi ...

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 ...

and a cartoon of 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 nam ...

. Perino was engaged in the general decoration of the Sala Reale, begun by Paul III when he died on October 19, 1547, in Rome. He is buried in the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

. His work in the Castel Sant'Angelo was continued by his student

Pellegrino Tibaldi Pellegrino Tibaldi (Valsolda, 1527– Milan, 1596), also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerist architect, sculptor, and mural painter. Biography Tibaldi was born in Puria di Valsolda, then part of the duchy ...

Assessment and legacy

Del Vaga's style was renowned for his vitality and elegance. His paintings are considered important in the mediation between the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

esque tradition and the first Florentine

. He combined the manners of Raphael and

Andrea del Sarto Andrea del Sarto (, , ; 16 July 1486 – 29 September 1530) was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. He was known as an outstanding fresco decorator, painter of altar-pieces ...

. Many of his works were engraved, even in his own lifetime.

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 wo ...

Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta Girolamo is an Italian variant of the name Hieronymus. Its English equivalent is Jerome. It may refer to: * Girolamo Cardano (1501–1576), Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler * Girolamo Cassar (c. 1520 – after ...

, Luzio Romano and

Marcello Venusti Marcello Venusti (1512 – 15 October 1579) was an Italian Mannerist painter active in Rome in the mid-16th century. Native to Mazzo di Valtellina near Como, he was reputed to have been a pupil of Perino del Vaga. He is known for a scaled cop ...

(also known as ''il Mantovano'') were among his principal assistants.

Notes

References

* *

External links

''The engravings of Giorgio Ghisi''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Perino del Vaga (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaga, Perin Del 1501 births 1547 deaths Painters from Florence 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Renaissance painters