- Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (
11 January 1503 -24 August 1540 ), also known as Francesco Mazzola or more commonly as Parmigianino (a nickname meaning "the little one from Parma") or sometimes "Parmigiano", was a prominent Italian Mannerist painter andprintmaker active inFlorence ,Rome ,Bologna , and his native city ofParma . His work is characterized by elongation of form and includes "Vision of Saint Jerome" (1527) and the "Madonna with the Long Neck " (1534).Early years
Parmigianino was the eighth child of Filippo Mazzola, a painter also known as Filippo dell' Erbette, [CathEncy|wstitle=Il Parmigiano] and Maria di ser Guglielmo. His father died of the plague two years after Parmigianino's birth, and the children were raised by their uncles, Michele and Pier Ilario, who according to Vasari were modestly talented artists.Vasari, Giorgio (Bull, George, translator) (1988). "Lives of the Artists: Volume 2", pp. 185-99. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0140444602.] In 1515, his uncle received a commission from Nicolo Zangrandi for the decoration of a chapel in San Giovanni Evangelista; a work later completed by a young Parmigianino. By the age of eighteen, he had already completed a "Marriage of Catherine"
altarpiece for Santa Maria atBardi . In 1521, Parmigianino was sent to Viadana (along with painterGirolamo Bedoli who was to marry his cousin) to escape the wars between the French, Imperial, and papal armies. In Viadana, he painted two panels intempera , depictingSaint Francis for the church of the Frati de' Zoccoli, and the "Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine" for San Pietro. He also worked inSan Giovanni and metCorreggio , who was at work on thefresco decorations of thecupola .Work in Fontanellato and travel to Rome
In 1524, he traveled to Rome with five small paintings, including the "Circumcision of Christ" and his "Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror", seeking patronage of the
Medici pope,Clement VII . Vasari records that in Rome, Parmigianino was "celebrated as aRaphael reborn". In January 1526, Parmigianino and his uncle,Pier Ilario , agreed with Maria Bufalina from Citta di Castello, to decorate the church of San Salvatore inLauro with an altarpiece of the "Vision of Saint Jerome" (1526-27, National Gallery, London). Within a year, the Sack of Rome caused Parmigianino, and many other artists, to flee.Return to Bologna and Parma
He resided in
Bologna for nearly three years. In 1528-29, he painted a "Madonna with Saint Margaret and Saints" (Pinacoteca, Bologna). In 1528, he painted "Madonna of the Rosa" (Dresden) and "Madonna with Saint Zachariah" (Uffizi). By 1530 Parmigianino had returned to Parma.In 1531, Parmigianino received a commission for two altarpieces, depicting
Saint Joseph andSaint John the Baptist , from the unfinished church ofSanta Maria della Steccata . The brotherhood overseeing the church advanced him salary and promised him the supplies and materials; however, by 1535, the project was unfinished. In December, he nominated Don Nicola Cassola, a Parman cleric at the RomanCuria , to act as his legal representative. Parmigianino authorized him to collect the 50 gold "scudi" from Bonifazio Gozzadini for the "Madonna with St. John the Baptist and St. Zacharias".In 1534, it was decided that the "Madonna dal Collo Lungo" (the "Madonna with the Long Neck") would hang in the chapel of the family of Elena Baiardi.
Parmigianino had probably expected to succeed Correggio in the favour of the church. However, in April 1538, the administrative offices commissioned initially
Giorgio Gandini del Grano , thenGirolamo Bedoli , to decorate theapse and choir of theduomo .It is believed that at this time, he became a devotee of
alchemy . Vasari hypothesizes that this was due to his fascination withmagic . Scholars now agree that Parmigianino's scientific interests may have been due to his obsession with trying to find a new medium for his etchings.Fact|date=March 2008 As a result of his alchemical researches, he completed little work in the church. He was imprisoned for two months for breach of contract after the Confraternita decided unanimously to ban him from continuing in their church. He was replaced between 1539 and 1540 byGiulio Romano , who also promptly withdrew from the contract.Parmigianino died in
Casalmaggiore on the24 August 1540 at the age of 37 years. He is buried in the church of the Frati de' Servi "naked with a cross made of cypress wood on his chest".Works
Parmigianino was also an early Italian etcher, a technique that was pioneered in Italy by
Marcantonio Raimondi , but which appealed to draughtsmen: though the techniques of printing the copper plates require special skills, the ease with which acid, when substituted for ink, can reproduce the spontaneity of an artist's hand attracted Parmigianino, a "master of elegant figure drawing". [Michelle Leicht, "Correggio and Parmigianino", exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001 ( [http://www.thecityreview.com/correggio.htm on-line review] )] Parmigianino also designedchiaroscuro woodcut s, and although his output was small he had a considerable influence on Italianprintmaking . Some of his prints were done in collaboration withGiovanni Jacopo Caraglio .List of works
*"
Madonna with the Long Neck " (1534-40, Oil on wood, 216 x 132 cm,Uffizi ,Florence )
*"Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror", c.1524; Oil on wood, diameter 24.4 cm; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
*"Vision of Saint Jerome" (National Gallery, London)
*"Cupid" (c.1523-24; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna [http://www.wga.hu/html/p/parmigia/cupid.html] )
*"Madonna and Child" (1525, Galleria Doria-Pamphili, Rome [http://www.wga.hu/html/p/parmigia/madchild.html] )
*"Portrait of a Man with a Book" (Attributed, York City Art Gallery)
*"The Circumcision" (Detroit Institute of Arts)
*"Portrait of a Young Woman" (Antea) (Capodimonte Museum, Naples)
*"Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist" (Capodimonte)
*"The Conversion of Saint Paul" (Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna)
*"Saint Roch and Donor" (Gamba Chapel San Petronio Bologna)
*"Allegorical Portrait of Charles V" (New York)
*"The Annunciation" (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York))Gallery
ee also
*
Mannerism Notes
References
*"Parmigianino", Cecil Gould. ISBN 1-55859-892-8
*"The Story of Art", E.H. Gombrich, London : Phaidon Press, Ltd., 1995 ISBN 0-7148-3247-2
* [http://www.khm.at/parmigianino/en/en02/chronology.html "Parmigianino and European Mannerism" Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna] in EnglishExternal links
* [http://www.museumsyndicate.com/artist.php?artist=326 Parmigianino Gallery at MuseumSyndicate]
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