GIANNICOLA DI PAOLO

(b. ~1460 Perugia, d. 1544 Perugia)

Italian painter, active mainly in Perugia. He was also called (erroneously) Giannicola di Paolo Manni. The artist was employed in the workshop of Perugino, with whom he collaborated on numerous works, including the Last Supper in the church of Sant’Onofrio, Florence. Later as an independent painter he set up a workshop in Piazza del Sopramura, the same square occupied by that of his former master, and his style remained heavily influenced by Perugino throughout his career.

Evidence of pouncing in the execution of some paintings, such as the Annunciation attributed to Giannicola in the National Gallery, London, suggest that Perugino’s cartoons were freely accessible to him. Rather than directly copying Perugino’s paintings, the artist likely made his own drawings from his master’s modelli while working in his studio.

Madonna and Child in a Landscape

While the present Madonna is not a direct copy, the composition is evidently based on the central figures from the Madonna and Child attributed to Perugino in the Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples. Rather than show the figures full length, Giannicola ends the composition at the Madonna’s knees and excludes the figures in the background. The Christ Child is heavily reliant on Perugino’s design, while the face of the Virgin is painted very much in Giannicola’s own idiom. The features are sweeter and less linear and the flesh appears softer and rounder.

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Madonna delle Grazie

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The Annunciation

This panel may have been the upper part of an altarpiece. It is a fairly early work by Giannicola while he was strongly influenced by Perugino.

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The Annunciation

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