Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan language, Etr ...

, in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of

foreshortening Linear or point-projection perspective () is one of two types of 3D projection, graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, generally on a fla ...

. His massive

fresco Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

s of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–1503) in

Orvieto Cathedral Orvieto Cathedral () is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 1986, the cathedral in Orvieto has been the episcopal seat ...

are considered his masterpiece. In his early 40s he returned to live in Cortona, after working in Florence,

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

and Rome (1478–84, painting a now lost section of the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

). With an established reputation, he remained based in Cortona for the rest of his life, but often travelled to the cities of the region to fulfill commissions. He was probably trained by

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca ( , ; ; ; – 12 October 1492) was an Italian Renaissance painter, Italian painter, mathematician and List of geometers, geometer of the Early Renaissance, nowadays chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting is charact ...

in Florence, as his cousin

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

wrote. Cortona hosted a major exhibition in 2023 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his death.

Biography

He was born Luca d'Egidio di Ventura in

, Tuscany (some sources call him Luca da Cortona). The precise date of his birth is uncertain, but birth dates between 1441 and 1445 have been proposed. He died in 1523 in his native Cortona, where he is buried. His first impressions of art seem to originate in Perugia – including the styles of artists such as Benedetto Bonfigli,

Fiorenzo di Lorenzo Fiorenzo di Lorenzo ( 1440 – 1522) was an Italian painter, of the Umbrian school. He lived and worked at Perugia, where most of his authentic works are still preserved in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. Fiorenzo is known from a few sig ...

and

Pinturicchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian Renaissance painter. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his small stature a ...

. Lazzaro Vasari, the great-grandfather of art historian

, was Luca's maternal uncle. According to

, Lazzaro had Luca apprenticed to

. In 1472 the young artist was painting at

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

, and in 1474 at

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. T ...

. He presented to

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

a work which is likely ''School of Pan''. Janet Ross and her husband Henry discovered the painting in Florence and subsequently sold it to the Kaiser Frederick Museum in Berlin, though it was destroyed there a few days after the end of World War II. The painting's subject is almost the same as that which he also painted on the wall of the Petrucci palace in Siena – the principal figures being Pan himself, Olympus,

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

, a man reclining on the ground, and two listening shepherds. Signorelli worked in central Italy, leading a very requested workshop, increasing his importance during the 1490s. He often returned to his native Cortona, and worked in nearby

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, especially in

, where he left one of his masterpieces: ''the Martyrdome of St Sebastian'' (still in the umbrian town). This painting was very influential for the young

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, who worked in the same town and sketched some drawings of the "Martyrdom". In 1498, Signorelli moved to the Monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore south of Siena, where he painted eight frescoes, forming part of a vast series depicting the life of St. Benedict; they are at present much injured. In the palace of Pandolfo Petrucci he worked on various classic or mythological subjects, including the aforementioned ''School of Pan''. Signorelli remained healthy until his death, continuing to paint and accept commissions into his final year, including the altarpiece of the Church at Foiano.

Work in Orvieto

From the Monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore near

, Signorelli went 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 ...

and produced his masterpiece, the frescoes in the chapel of S. Brizio (then called the Cappella Nuova), in the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. The Cappella Nuova already contained two groups of images in the vaulting over the altar, the Judging Christ and the Prophets, murals initially begun by

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico, O.P. (; ; born Guido di Pietro; 18 February 1455) was a Dominican friar and Italian Renaissance painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Giorgio Vasari in his ''Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent" ...

fifty years prior. The works of Signorelli in the vaults and on the upper walls represent the events surrounding the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment. The events of the Apocalypse fill the space which surrounds the entrance into the large chapel. The Apocalyptic events begin with the ''Preaching of Antichrist'', and proceed to the ''Doomsday'' and ''The Resurrection of the Flesh''. They occupy three vast

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

s, each of them a single continuous narrative composition. In one of them, the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

, after his portents and impious glories, falls headlong from the sky, crashing down into an innumerable crowd of men and women. The events of the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

fill the facing vault and the walls around the altar. The series is composed of ''Paradise'', ''the'' ''Elect and the Condemned'', ''Hell'', the ''Resurrection of the Dead'', and the ''Destruction of the Reprobate''. To Angelico's ceiling, which contained the ''Judging Christ'' and the ''Prophets'' led by John the Baptist, Signorelli added the ''Madonna leading the Apostles'', the ''Patriarchs'', ''Doctors of the Church'', ''Martyrs'', and ''Virgins''. The unifying factor of the paintings is found in the scripture readings in the Roman liturgies for the Feast of All Saints and Advent. Stylistically, the daring and terrible inventions, with their powerful treatment of the nude and arduous foreshortenings, were striking in their day.

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

is claimed to have borrowed, in his own fresco at the

wall, some of Signorelli's figures or combinations. The lower walls, in an unprecedented style, are richly decorated with a great deal of subsidiary work connected with

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

, specifically the first eleven books of his ''Purgatorio'', and with the poets and legends of antiquity. A ''Pietà'' composition in a niche in the lower wall contains explicit references to two important Orvietan martyr saints, San Pietro Parenzo and San Faustino. The contract for Signorelli's work is still on record in the archives of the Cathedral of Orvieto. He undertook the task of completing the ceiling on April 5, 1499 for 200 ducats, as well as 600 ducats for the walls, along with lodging, and a monthly payment of two measures of wine and two quarters of corn. The contract directed Signorelli to consult the Masters of the Sacred Page for theological matters. This is the first such recorded instance of an artist receiving theological advice, although art historians believe such discussions were routine. Signorelli's first stay in Orvieto lasted no more than two years. In 1502 he returned to Cortona, later returning to Orvieto to continue the lower walls. He painted a dead Christ, with Mary Magdalene, the Virgin Mary, and the local martyr Saints Pietro Parenzo and Faustino. The figure of the dead Christ, according to Vasari, is the image of Signorelli's son Antonio, who died from the plague during the course of the execution of the paintings.

Work in Siena, Cortona, Rome, and Arezzo

Luca Signorelli - Two nude youths carrying a young woman and a young man - Google Art Project

After finishing the frescoes at Orvieto, Signorelli was often in Siena. In 1507 he executed a great altarpiece for S. Medardo at Arcevia in the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, the ''Madonna and Child'', with the ''Massacre of the Innocents'' and other episodes. In 1508

Pope Julius II Pope Julius 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, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

summoned artists to Rome, including Signorelli,

Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous ...

and

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

to paint the large rooms in the

Vatican Palace The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the build ...

. They began work, but soon the Pope dismissed all to make way for

. Their work was taken down, except for the ceiling in the Stanza della Segnatura. Luca returned to Siena, but mostly lived in his hometown of Cortona. He was constantly at work, but the products of his closing years were not of the quality of his works from 1490 to 1505. In 1520 Signorelli went with one of his pictures to Arezzo. He was partially paralyzed when he began a fresco of the ''Baptism of Christ'' in the chapel of Cardinal Passerini's palace near Cortona, which is the last picture attributed to him (alternatively, a ''Coronation of the Virgin'' at Foiano della Chiana). Signorelli stood in great repute as a citizen, entering the magistracy of Cortona as early as 1488 and holding a leading position by 1523, the year of his death. Signorelli paid great attention to anatomy. It is said that he carried on his studies in burial grounds, and his mastery of the human form implies a familiarity resulting from dissections. He surpassed contemporaries in showing the structure and mechanism of the nude in immediate action, even going beyond nature in experiments of this kind, trying hypothetical attitudes and combinations. His drawings in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

demonstrate this and bear a close analogy to the method of Michelangelo. He aimed at powerful truth rather than nobility of form; comparatively neglecting color, and his

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

exhibits sharp oppositions of lights and shadows. He had a vast influence over the painters of his own and of succeeding times, but had no pupils or assistants of high repute; one being a nephew named Francesco. Vasari, who claimed Signorelli as a relative, described him as kindly, and a family man, and said that he always lived more like a nobleman than a painter. Vasari included Signorelli's portrait, one of seven, in his study in Arezzo, along with Michelangelo and himself. The Torrigiani Gallery in Florence contains a grand life-sized portrait by Signorelli of a man in a red cap and vest, and corresponds with Vasari's observation. 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 more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

, are the '' Circumcision of Christ'' and three other works. Legend holds that Signorelli depicted himself in the left foreground of his Orvietan mural ''

The Preaching of the Antichrist ''The Preaching of the Antichrist'' () is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli. It is one of the scenes of what is considered his masterpiece, the cycle of frescoes with Book of Revelation, ap ...

''. Fra Angelico, his predecessor in the Orvieto cycle, is thought to stand behind him in the piece. However, the figure thought to be Fra Angelico is not dressed as a Dominican friar, and Signorelli's supposed portrait does not match that in Vasari's study.

Major works

* ''The Scourging of Christ'' (c. 1480) – Tempera on roundheaded panel, 84 × 57 cm,

Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

* '' Testament and Death of Moses'' (1481–1482) – Fresco, 350 × 572 cm,

, Vatican * '' Sant'Onofrio Altarpiece'' (1484) – Panel, 221 × 189 cm, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo,

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

* ''Madonna and Child'' (1484) – Panel, 170 × 117.5 cm,

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum 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 and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

* '' The Circumcision'' (c. 1490–91) – Oil on panel transferred to canvas, 259 × 180 cm,

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 more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

*''Madonna and Child with St. Joseph and Another Saint'' (1490–1492) – Panel, diameter: 99 cm, Galleria Palatina,

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 *'' Portrait of a Man'' (c. 1492) – Tempera on panel, 50 × 32,

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin The (, Painting Gallery) is an art museum in Berlin, Germany, and the museum where the main selection of paintings belonging to the Berlin State Museums (''Staatliche Museen zu Berlin'') is displayed. It was first opened in 1830, and the cur ...

*''The Adoration of the Shepherds'' (1496) – Painted for the church of San Francesco,

* ''Martyrdom of St Sebastian''(1498) – Pinacoteca Comunale, Città di Castello *''The Damned Cast into Hell'' (c. 1499) – San Brizio Chapel,

, Orvieto, Italy *'' Allegory of Fertility and Abundance'' (c. 1500) – Tempera on panel,

*''Lamentation over the Dead Christ'' (1502) – Wood, 270 × 240 cm, Museo Diocesano, Cortona * :File:Vitellozzo Vitelli.jpg Portrait of Vitellozzo Vitelli'' (1500–1503) – Panel, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Orvieto * ''Mary Magdalene'' (1504) – Panel, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Orvieto * ''Calvary'' (1505) * ''The Coronation of the Virgin'' (1508) – painted for the Filippini Chapel in the church of San Francesco, Arcevia * '' The Trinity, the Virgin and Two Saints'' (1510) – Tempera on wood, 272 × 180 cm, Uffizi, Florence * '' Communion of the Apostles'' (1512) – Panel, 232 × 220 cm, Museo Diocesano, Cortona * ''

Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess a ...

'' (c. 1512) – Tempera on panel, Museo Horne, Florence * ''Madonna with Child and Saints'' (1515) – Painted for church of San Francesco, Montone, now in the National Gallery, London * '' Madonna and Child with Saints'' (c. 1519–1523) – Tempera on panel, Museo di arte medievale e moderna,

* ''Immaculate Conception'' (c. 1523) – Panel, 217 × 210 cm, Museo Diocesano, Cortona * ''Madonna and Child with Saints'' (mid or late 1510s) – Panel, Museo Nazionale di

Castel Sant'Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

File:1492 Signorelli Portrait of an older man anagoria.JPG, Portrait of an older man (1492) File:Luca Signorelli, Ritratto di Camillo Vitelli.jpg, Portrait of Camillo Vitelli (c. 1493–1496) File:Vitellozzo Vitelli (adjusted).jpg, Portrait of Vitellozzo Vitelli File:Luca signorelli, santi eligio e antonio, sansepolcro.jpg, ''Saint Anthony and

Saint Eligius Eligius (; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660), venerated as Saint Eligius, was a Frankish goldsmith, courtier, and bishop who was chief counsellor to Dagobert I and later Bishop of Noyon–Tournai. His deeds were recorded in ''Vita Sancti Eligii' ...

'' File:Luca signorelli, crocifissione di san sepolcro.jpg, ''Crucifixion'' File:Signorelli, Martyrdom of St Sebastian, città di castello.jpg, ''Martyrdom of St Sebastian'' File:Luca Signorelli Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels.jpg, ''Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels'' File:Luca signorelli, vergine in trono e santi, volterra, dettaglio san girolamo.jpg, ''Madonna with Angels and Saints'', detail, San Girolamo (

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

) File:Luca signorelli, cappella di san brizio, predica e punizione dell'anticristo 01.jpg, Fresco of the ''Deeds of the Antichrist'' (c. 1501) in

File:Signorelli self.jpg, Selfportrait of Luca Signorelli (left) with

File:Signorelli Resurrection.jpg, ''Resurrection of the Flesh'' (1499–1502), Fresco Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto File:Orvieto096 kopie.jpg, ''The Elect In Paradise'' File:Luca Signorelli 001.jpg, ''The Damned.'' 1499-1502. Fresco. Chapel of San Brizio in Orvieto Cathedral. File:Luca Signorelli - Christ and the Doubting Thomas - WGA21269.jpg, ''Christ and the Doubting Thomas''

Notes

References

* * Cruttwell, Maud, ''Signorelli''. George Bell & Sons in London, 1899
online
* * Henry, Tom, ''The Life and Art of Luca Signorelli''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012
Review

External links

Art UK

Luca Signorelli
by Maud Cruttwell
Cortona the Town where Luca Signorelli was born
{{DEFAULTSORT:Signorelli, Luca 1440s births 1523 deaths People from Cortona Italian Renaissance painters Italian draughtsmen Painters from Tuscany 15th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 16th-century Italian painters Catholic painters Year of birth uncertain