BALDASSARE PERUZZI
Siena I48i-Rome 1536
Peruzzi's career began in Siena. In 1502/03 he moved to
Rome, where he rapidly attained success as an architect
and decorator. Peruzzi was inspired by the traditions of
classical antiquity and the art of his contemporary Ra-
phael. From 1509 to 1516 he was engaged as the architect
and designer of the Villa Farnesina. In 1516 he decorated
the Cappella Ponzetti in Santa Maria della Pace and com-
pleted the fresco representing the Presentation of the Vir-
gin for the same church. Peruzzi was appointed architect
of Saint Peter's, and in 1520-1523 he painted the oval fres-
coes illustrating scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses in the
Villa Madama. He also traveled to Bologna, returning to
Rome, where he designed Pope Adrian VI's tomb in
Santa Maria della Anima. Peruzzi returned to work in
Siena in 1527 as architect of the Sienese republic, but in
1535 he was again in Rome. In the same year he began
construction of the Palazzo Massimo allé Colonne. His
designs for architectural and scénographie projects had a
great influence on Sebastiano Serlio, who used them as
the basis for his treatise on architecture.BERNARDINO POCCETTI (Bernardino
Barbatelli)
San Mariano di Valdelsa 1548-Florence 1612
Poccetti received his artistic training from Michèle di Ri-
dolfo. In his youth he worked as a decorator, particularly
as a painter of facades and grotesques. Following a brief
visit to Rome in 1578 to study the work of Raphael and
his school, Poccetti began his prolific activity as a nar-
rative fresco painter. His vivid depictions of the lives of
the saints—as seen in the lunettes of the Chiostro Grande
(1582-1584) in Santa Maria Novella—and of the mem-
orable exploits of noble Tuscan families—in the Palazzo
Capponi (1585)—brought him much success in Flor-
ence. His works, including the Stories of Saint Bruno
(1591-1592) for the Certosa di Val d'Ema and the deco-
rations for the Cappella Neri in Santa Maria Maddalena
dei Pazzi (1598-1600), combine the ornamental quality
of the late maniera with elements of naturalism and clas-
sicism which recall the art of Raphael and Andrea del
Sarto. Poccetti continued to paint narrative religious
frescoes i n the churches and cloisters of Florence until his
death.POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO
Caravaggio 1495/1500-Messina circa 1543
Polidoro moved from Caravaggio in Lombardy to
Rome around 1515 and found work as a plasterer in the
Vatican Loggie. Basing his style upon the art of Raphaeland Giulio Romano, he quickly advanced to the position
of fresco painter. In Rome Polidoro excelled as a facade
painter specializing in monochrome friezes of ancient
history, as can be seen on the Palazzo Ricci (1524-1525).
Between 1525 and 1527 he decorated the Cappella Fetti in
San Silvestre al Quirinale. Following the Sack of Rome
in 1527, Polidoro traveled first to Naples and then, in
1528, to Messina. Far removed from the major artistic
centers of Italy, his art became introspective, eccentric,
and rather unclassical. During these last years he painted
religious themes almost exclusively. His later works in-
clude the Way to Calvary (1534; Naples, Museo Nazionale
di Capodimonte) and Saint Albert the Carmelite (Turin,
Galleria Sabauda).PONTORMO (Jacopo Carucci)
Pontormo (Empoli) 1494-Florence 1557
Around 1506, Pontormo, who was orphaned as a youth,
moved to Florence, where he trained in the studios of
Leonardo, Piero di Cosimo, Mariotto Albertinelli, and
Andrea del Sarto. Youthful works, including the Visita-
tion (1514-1516; Florence, SS. Annunziata), reflect the
High Renaissance classicism of Sarto and Fra Bartolom-
meo. As early as 1518, in the Madonna and Child with
Saints in San Michèle Visdomini, Florence, Pontormo's
art became increasingly complex and disturbing in form
and feeling, signaling the beginning of the Mannerist
style in Italy. His study of Michelangelo and the prints
of Durer further influenced his development of a highly
personal, idiosyncratic style. The ambiguous composi-
tion and elongated, restless figures of the Deposition
(1526-1528) in Santa Felicita, Florence, represent the cul-
mination of this development. Pontormo received Me-
dici patronage throughout his career, including a com-
mission for the early fresco decorations (1520) of the
family's country villa at Poggio a Caiano. Between 1546
and 1556, he painted the biblical scenes in the choir of the
Medici parish church of San Lorenzo in Florence, which
no longer exist.NICOLAS POUSSIN
Les Andelys 15 94-Rome 1665
Poussin was first encouraged to paint by the Mannerist
Quentin Varin. He moved to Paris to become a profes-
sional painter in 1612 and made a visit to Italy around- In 1624 he moved to Rome, where he discovered
classical antiquity and studied the art of Raphael, Titian,
and Domenichino, all of whom influenced his develop-
ment. His patrons included Cardinal Francesco Barber-
ini and the antiquarian Cassiano del Pozzo, for whom he
painted the first series of the Seven Sacraments (1636-
348 ARTISTS' BIOGRAPHIES