San Giovanni Evangelista. The dome
painting—known asThe Vision of St. John
the Evangelist on Patmos—shows Christ
and other figures in perspective, looking
directly down on the view and worship-
pers. In the cathedral of Parma the painter
created an even more elaborate cupola
ceiling, depicting the assumption of the
Virgin Mary among a crowded scene of
saints and angels. In this work Correggio
drew on his study of Michelangelo’s Sis-
tine Chapel ceiling, and his own great skill
at perspective, to draw the viewer directly
into the complex action of the painting.
Correggio executed several majestic,
elaborate altarpieces, including theMa-
donna of St. Sebastian, Adoration of the
Shepherds, and theMadonna of St. George.
One of his most famous small paintings,
Christ on the Mount of Olives, shows the
figure of Christ kneeling and gesturing in
a setting of darkness illuminated by a holy
light from the heavens. Other renowned
paintings of Correggio are theMadonna of
the BaskeandMadonna Adoring the Christ
Child. Federigo Gonzaga, the duke of
Mantua, commissioned from Correggio a
series of six paintings of mythological
scenes, inspired by the work of the ancient
Roman poet Ovid. These paintings broke
new ground in their eroticism and depic-
tion of the human form, such as inLeda
and the Swan, Ganymede Abducted by the
Eagle, andThe Education of Cupid, which
shows a nude Venus looking directly at the
viewer. Correggio remained in the town of
Parma for most of his life, far from the
mainstreams of Renaissance art and
thought in Rome and Florence. But his
work was admired by painters in the years
to come, who adopted his depiction of fig-
ures in motion, foreshortening, and lush
scenery to create new traditions in the Ba-
roque and Rococo periods.
SEEALSO: Michelangelo Buonarroti; paint-
ing; RaphaelCortes, Hernán .................................
(1485–1547)
Spanish conquistador (conqueror), who
subdued the Aztecs of Mexico and founded
the colony of New Spain precursor to the
modern Republic of Mexico. Born in the
town of Medellin in the Estremadura re-
gion of Castile, Cortes was the son of a
soldier and the cousin of Francisco Pizarro,
the conqueror of the Inca Empire of Peru.
Cortes attended the University of Sala-
manca but, in search of a more adventur-
ous life, dropped his studies in law after
two years. By this time, the discovery of a
new continent was inspiring dreams of
riches and glory among many young Span-
iards.
Cortes first enlisted with the fleet of
Nicolas de Ovando, the newly appointed
governor of Hispaniola, but an accident
while climbing out of his mistress’s win-
dow in Medellin prevented him from sail-
ing. He finally reached the West Indies in
1503, arriving with a Spanish expedition
to Hispaniola and Cuba. He was granted
anencomienda(estate) on Hispaniola by
the governor, Diego Velazquez de Curellar,
as well as a number of Indian slaves. In
1511 he set out with Velazquez to conquer
the island of Cuba. For his service he was
appointed treasurer of the new colony, re-
sponsible for directing 20 percent of all
income from it to the Spanish crown, and
an appointment as mayor of the town of
Santiago, the island’s capital city.
In 1519 he was appointed to lead an
expedition to the mainland of North
America. By this time, he was at odds with
Velazquez, who recalled him at the last
minute from the expedition. Cortes defied
these orders and sailed with 508 men andCortes, Hernán