PERINO DEL VAGA

The style of Perino del Vaga, a Florentine Mannerist, differs sharply from that of Pontormo and Rosso, possibly because of his association with Raphael in Rome. Perino bridges, in fact, the gap between the Roman High Renaissance and the Mannerism, the dominant style of the middle and late Cinquecento.

Perino’s Adoration is a variant on the Nativity, although neither shed, manger, ox, ox, ass, nor shepherds are present. Perino’s signature and the date 1534 appear on the foreshortened tablet in the foreground - a device borrowed from Albrecht D�rer.

Pope Paul III gave the work of frescoing the great hall of the Castel Sant’Angelo to Perino del Vaga who had long been entrusted with the task of decorating papal halls. Perino himself painted just part of the frescoes in the Castel Sant’Angelo, the other parts being done by collaborators following his cartoons. Perino first prepared his own designs, and at least one such draft is preserved for Alexander the Great Battles the Indian King Porus. The painting itself was executed by Marco Pino.

Some of the Roman paintings found in the Domus Aurea and elsewhere correspond quite precisely what Vasari and others determined to be the typical features of grotesques. These paintings inspired several ceiling designs ‘all’antica’, such as the ceiling of the Sala dei Pontefici designed by Perino del Vaga and Giovanni da Udine. The desire to revive not only the forms of ancient Roman architecture but also their decoration may help to explain the success of these paintings. In particular, Raphael and the specialists in his workshop, who mastered the genre completely, helped the grotesque style to spread quickly in Rome.

Between 1542 and 1548 Pope Paul III transformed a series of rooms on the two upper levels of the Castel Sant’Angelo into a comfortable and at the same time impressive apartment. Time and again this castle had provided protection to popes against the incursions of secular powers, and it continued to have a military function. His predecessors had commissioned various decorations, although these have been lost. The newly decorated rooms were to provide leisure and spiritual rest - the typical purpose of a country house or villa. The mythological subjects with which some of the rooms were painted thus correspond to what one would expect in a villa, but hardly in papal apartments.

The largest room of these apartments, the great hall today called the Sala Paolina after the pope who commissioned it, surprises the visitor with its festive exuberance. Most important is the impression of the whole which presents itself to the eye and aims to overpower visitors to the room with the sheer display of riches, splendour, and bounty. This impression is the result of the decorative system designed by Perino del Vaga.

The seemingly plastic organization of the walls features bronze chiaroscuri framed in stone; round-headed niches flanked by columns, with “living” figures of the Virtues; overdoor paintings with female personifications; and pairs of putti holding bronze tondi. The plastic organization of the walls enters into competition with the fully plastic, partially gilded stucco of the ceiling and its colourful paintings.

The six ceiling paintings and the large wall areas were reserved for scenes from the life of Alexander the Great, while the act of Apostle Paul - from his conversion to martyrdom - were depicted in the six tondi above the doors of the room. The selection of these two protagonists was clearly intended to play on the two names of the pope (Alessandro Farnese having become Paul III).

Perino del Vaga painted just a part of the frescoes, the other parts being done by collaborators following his cartoons. Marco Pino from Siena, a student of Beccafumi, painted the six Alexander scenes on the vault.

Perhaps the most singular talent active in Raphael’s studio, Perino propelled his master’s classical manner into the exuberant and elegant style that became known as Mannerism. Even more than his painted oeuvre, Perino’s drawings are as puzzling in their stylistic diversity as they are exciting for their virtuosic use of the pen and their inventiveness. The present sheet – bold in style, large in scale, unusual in technique – is an exceptional example of the artist’s originality.

The drawing belongs to a group of eleven sheets, all executed with pen and brush on brown-tinted paper and heightened with yellow bodycolour. The result seems to have been meant to imitate bronze reliefs, not unlike the scenes Perino is known to have painted for Raphael in the Vatican Loggie. The other sheets of the group are in various museums

The present sheet is the only one of the group in private collections, the others are in various museums (Courtauld Gallery, London; Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton; Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich; Mus�e du Louvre, Paris; Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden).

Andrea Doria built himself a splendid seaside villa just outside Genoa’s western gate. He entrusted the design and decoration of much of this complex to Perino del Vaga, one of Raphael’s students, who escaped papal Rome during its fateful sack by imperial troops in 1527. Perino’s common artistic roots with Giulio Romano, another of Raphael’s talented pupils, is evident in the designs he made for the street-side fa�ade of the Villa Doria. Perino conceived of the fa�ade as a field for architectural and decorative fantasies.

This drawing depicts the shipwreck of Aeneas: Neptune saves Aeneas and his crew from the waves. It is s preliminary drawing of a lost fresco in the Palazzo Doria, Genoa.

The Oratorio di San Giovanni Decollato in Rome houses the most important fresco cycle executed in the difficult decades after he Sack of Rome. It was commissioned by the Florentine confraternity of the Misericordia, founded in 1488, whose members had set themselves the task of helping those sentenced to death by providing them with spiritual support. Shortly after its founding the confraternity began the construction of the church and oratory next door. The completion of the church was delayed until 1553. By around 1536, on the other hand, the oratory had been completed to the extent that the painted decoration of the room could begin.

The subject chosen for the fresco cycle, which covers the upper half of all four walls, was the story of the patron saint of the brotherhood, John the Baptist. For the execution of the cycle they selected Florentine (or Tuscan) artists working in Rome at the time. The most renowned Florentine painter active in Rome was Perino del Vaga, and several preparatory drawings for the frescoes by him have been preserved. Perino’s designs were executed by younger Florentine artists, Jacopino del Conte and Cecchino (Francesco) del Salviati.

The picture shows a sketch for St John the Baptist Preaching. The fresco was executed by Jacopino del Conte.

The Oratorio di San Giovanni Decollato in Rome houses the most important fresco cycle executed in the difficult decades after he Sack of Rome. It was commissioned by the Florentine confraternity of the Misericordia, founded in 1488, whose members had set themselves the task of helping those sentenced to death by providing them with spiritual support. Shortly after its founding the confraternity began the construction of the church and oratory next door. The completion of the church was delayed until 1553. By around 1536, on the other hand, the oratory had been completed to the extent that the painted decoration of the room could begin.

The subject chosen for the fresco cycle, which covers the upper half of all four walls, was the story of the patron saint of the brotherhood, John the Baptist. For the execution of the cycle they selected Florentine (or Tuscan) artists working in Rome at the time. The most renowned Florentine painter active in Rome was Perino del Vaga, and several preparatory drawings for the frescoes by him have been preserved. Perino’s designs were executed by younger Florentine artists, Jacopino del Conte and Cecchino (Francesco) del Salviati.

The picture shows an early design for the Visitation fresco which was executed by Salviati.

The Oratorio di San Giovanni Decollato in Rome houses the most important fresco cycle executed in the difficult decades after he Sack of Rome. It was commissioned by the Florentine confraternity of the Misericordia, founded in 1488, whose members had set themselves the task of helping those sentenced to death by providing them with spiritual support. Shortly after its founding the confraternity began the construction of the church and oratory next door. The completion of the church was delayed until 1553. By around 1536, on the other hand, the oratory had been completed to the extent that the painted decoration of the room could begin.

The subject chosen for the fresco cycle, which covers the upper half of all four walls, was the story of the patron saint of the brotherhood, John the Baptist. For the execution of the cycle they selected Florentine (or Tuscan) artists working in Rome at the time. The most renowned Florentine painter active in Rome was Perino del Vaga, and several preparatory drawings for the frescoes by him have been preserved. Perino’s designs were executed by younger Florentine artists, Jacopino del Conte and Cecchino (Francesco) del Salviati.

The picture shows a sketch for the Feast of Herod, the moment at which the head of John is presented. This scene was never executed but was undoubtedly planned for the oratory cycle.

The detached fresco fragment illustrates an episode from ancient Roman history, related by Livy. King Tarquinius Priscus, who is standing on the left, observes an architect, bent to draw on the ground the foundations of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. In the background, an animated crowd watches the event, also celebrated by musicians playing trumpets standing on the base of the columns. The crowded, lively composition with its focus on the foreground, also includes a view of ancient Rome in the background, and is closely influenced by Raphael’s style in the Vatican Rooms, in particular in the Room of Heliodorus and in the one of the Fire of Borgo, and in the preparatory sketches for the tapestries in the Sistine Chapel. Perino had played an active role in these projects, for which he stood out as one of Raphael’s most gifted pupils.

This painting, with the Justice of Zaleucus, is part of a cycle painted by Perino, together with Polidoro da Caravaggio, who decorated some of the first floor of Palazzo Baldassini in Rome, the first civic building designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, between 1516 and c. 1519. The decoration was commissioned by Melchiorre Baldassini, illustrious papal jurist, consistorial lawyer, advocate for the poors, and contributor to the new Regulae of the Apostolic Chancery.

Andrea Doria (1466-1560) was the dominant figure in Genoa in his times. He was an extraordinarily talented naval commander. Coming from an impoverished branch of an ancient local family, he succeeded in enriching himself and reestablishing Genoese independence after protracted domination by the French. His fellow citizens named him Principe (Prince) and Pater Patriae (Father of the Homeland).

Befitting his unique status in Genoa, Doria built himself a splendid seaside villa just outside the city’s western gate (Villa Doria or Palazzo del Principe). He entrusted the design and the decoration of much of this complex to Perino del Vaga, one of Raphael’s students. Perino was responsible for the entire decoration of the Salone dei Giganti. This splendidly decorated room is crowned by the representation of the Fall of the Giants on an enormous ceiling painting.

Andrea Doria (1466-1560) was the dominant figure in Genoa in his times. He was an extraordinarily talented naval commander. Coming from an impoverished branch of an ancient local family, he succeeded in enriching himself and reestablishing Genoese independence after protracted domination by the French. His fellow citizens named him Principe (Prince) and Pater Patriae (Father of the Homeland).

Befitting his unique status in Genoa, Doria built himself a splendid seaside villa just outside the city’s western gate (Villa Doria or Palazzo del Principe). He entrusted the design and the decoration of much of this complex to Perino del Vaga, one of Raphael’s students. Perino was responsible for the entire decoration of the Salone dei Giganti. This splendidly decorated room is crowned by the representation of the Fall of the Giants on an enormous ceiling painting.

Perino del Vaga based his composition on Raphael’s Madonna Aldobrandini and Madonna dell’Impannata, with arrangement of figures yielding to the circular form.

This fresco fragment, together with the Tarquinius Priscus episode, comes from the rooms on the first floor of Palazzo Baldassini in Rome, the first civic building designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, between 1516 and c. 1519.

To demonstrate his impartiality before the law, Zaleucus, the Greek lawgiver punished his own son, who had committed adultery, by having one of his eyes gouged out. The scene depicts the moment in which Zaleucus holds out his arm to issue the order to the executioner, while the young man, sitting at the foot of a column on the right, resignedly accepts his fate. The narrative vibrancy of the scene, the elegant use of colour, and the many references to the culture of the Vatican Loggias (frescoed by Raphael and pupils, among them Perino del Vaga) including the same light, rapid brush strokes, are specific features of Perino del Vaga’s art in this period.

Between 1542 and 1548 Pope Paul III transformed a series of rooms on the two upper levels of the Castel Sant’Angelo into a comfortable and at the same time impressive apartment. Time and again this castle had provided protection to popes against the incursions of secular powers, and it continued to have a military function. His predecessors had commissioned various decorations, although these have been lost. The newly decorated rooms were to provide leisure and spiritual rest - the typical purpose of a country house or villa. The mythological subjects with which some of the rooms were painted - such as the overtly erotic depictions of the story of Cupid and Psyche in the frieze of the bedchamber - thus correspond to what one would expect in a villa, but hardly in papal apartments.

In the Visitation fresco in the Pucci Chapel, Perino turned what was actually an intimate occasion into a many-figured scene that unfurls across a broad stage in front of a large architectural backdrop with numerous spectators expressing their joy and their astonishment over the event heralded, the incarnation of God. The influence of Raphael’s School of Athens here is undeniable.

Between 1542 and 1548 Pope Paul III transformed a series of rooms on the two upper levels of the Castel Sant’Angelo into a comfortable and at the same time impressive apartment. Time and again this castle had provided protection to popes against the incursions of secular powers, and it continued to have a military function. His predecessors had commissioned various decorations, although these have been lost. The newly decorated rooms were to provide leisure and spiritual rest - the typical purpose of a country house or villa. The mythological subjects with which some of the rooms were painted thus correspond to what one would expect in a villa, but hardly in papal apartments.

The largest room of these apartments, the great hall today called the Sala Paolina after the pope who commissioned it, surprises the visitor with its festive exuberance. Most important is the impression of the whole which presents itself to the eye and aims to overpower visitors to the room with the sheer display of riches, splendour, and bounty. This impression is the result of the decorative system designed by Perino del Vaga.

The seemingly plastic organization of the walls features bronze chiaroscuri framed in stone; round-headed niches flanked by columns, with “living” figures of the Virtues; overdoor paintings with female personifications; and pairs of putti holding bronze tondi. The plastic organization of the walls enters into competition with the fully plastic, partially gilded stucco of the ceiling and its colourful paintings.

The six ceiling paintings and the large wall areas were reserved for scenes from the life of Alexander the Great, while the act of Apostle Paul - from his conversion to martyrdom - were depicted in the six tondi above the doors of the room. The selection of these two protagonists was clearly intended to play on the two names of the pope (Alessandro Farnese having become Paul III).

Perino del Vaga painted just a part of the frescoes, the other parts being done by collaborators following his cartoons. Marco Pino from Siena, a student of Beccafumi, painted the six Alexander scenes on the vault.

Set against a dark background that highlights her as if she were a statue, the tender young Virgin is holding her Son, who is carrying out blessings while standing on the balustrade. Both subjects are looking straight out at the spectator, directly engaging him with the holy vision. The figures are depicted with painstaking attention to the precious detailing on the clothing, such as the transparent veil on Christ’s chest and the pearl and stone pin on the Virgin’s head. Perino del Vaga used this model in many paintings of the same subjects, often portrayed with St Joseph.