destroyed, he is known today chiefly through his many
drawings and engravings.
CORREGGIO (Antonio Allegri)
Correggio 1489/94-1534
Antonio Allegri, known as Correggio after the provin-
cial town of his birth, became one of the leading artists
of sixteenth-century Italy. He may have worked in Man-
tua circa 1510-14; this would account for the influence of
Mantegna's art on his own early development, as can be
seen in his undated Nativity (Brera) and Madonna of Saint
Francis of 1514-15 (Berlin, Staatliche Museen Preus-
sicher Kulturbesitz, Gemâldegalerie). Circa 1518 Cor-
reggio's style assumed a new monumentality and classi-
cal beauty, suggesting that he made a visit during the
teens to Rome, where he saw the art of Raphael and Mi-
chelangelo. Characteristically, he emphasized the poetic
features of the High Renaissance style. Correggio cre-
ated his greatest fresco projects in Parma. His cupola dec-
orations, the Vision of Saint John on Patmos of 1520-24 in
San Giovanni Evangelista and the Assumption of 1526-
30 for the Duomo, which are populated with animated
figures in heavenly celebration, established an important
precedent for the Baroque era. The artist returned to
Correggio in 1530. Among his last works is a series
depicting the loves of Jupiter which includes the sen-
suous Jupiter and lo of 1531 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches
Museum).
LORENZO COSTA
Ferrara circa 1459/60-Mantua 1535
Little is known about Costa's life and artistic training.
Early in his career he seems to have been influenced by
Cosimo Tura and Ercole de' Roberti. By 1483 Costa had
settled in Bologna, where he lived for the most part until
1506, except for a brief interlude in Ferrara. Trips to Tus-
cany and Umbria are also probable. In the 14805 Costa
worked in the Bolognese church of San Giacomo Magg-
iore. An altarpiece, the Madonna and Child with Saints of
1492 (Bologna, San Petronio), is one of his few securely
dated works. Some of his paintings, including the Cor-
onation of the Virgin of circa 1500 (Bologna, San Giovanni
in Monte), indicate the influence of Perugino on him.
Circa 1507 he moved to Mantua as court painter to the
Gonzaga family and successor of Mantegna. That he had
already begun painting for the court while in Bologna is
evidenced by An Allegory of 1504-6 (Louvre), done for
Isabella d'Este's studiolo. Costa painted portraits while in
Mantua, including one of the physician Battista Fiera of
circa 1508 (National Gallery).
ANTOINE COYPEL
Paris 1661-1722
Coypel was the son of the painter Noël Coypel. He lived
at the French Academy in Rome from 1673 until 1676
with his father, who was the academy's director. In Paris
Coypel attained prominence quickly, becoming an Aca-
demician at the age of twenty and a professor at the Aca-
démie at twenty-two. His reception piece for member-
ship was a modern history painting, Louis XIV Resting
after the Peace ofNimègue of 1681 (Musée Fabre). His first
royal commissions were given in 1682, and he soon be-
came a protégé of the Orléans family. Coypel decorated
portions of several of the royal residences, including
rooms (destroyed) at Choisy and Versailles. Some of his
paintings, including Democritus of 1692 (Louvre), indi-
cate the influence of Rubens. Coypel's most important
works date from the first decade of the eighteenth cen-
tury, including the painting of the vault in the Palais
Royal (destroyed 1781). In 1709 he painted the vault of
the chapel at Versailles with illusionistic scenes. Coypel
was made director of the Académie in 1714 and was
named first painter to the king in 1716.LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER
Kronach 1472-Weimar 1553
Cranach, who was born in Upper Franconia, is generally
thought to have trained with his father, Hans. Circa 1501
he traveled to Vienna, where he produced his earliest
known works, such as Christ on the Cross of 1503 (Alte
Pinakothek). In their expressiveness and emphasis on the
power and dynamism of nature, these compositions are
early expressions of the stylistic movement known as the
Danube School. In 1504 Cranach was called to Witten-
berg by Frederick the Wise of Saxony, staying on to serve
his two successors. In Wittenberg the artist specialized in
paintings and murals of courtly subjects, including por-
traits, mythological themes, trophies, and hunts. His
large workshop included his sons Hans (circa 1513-1537)
and Lucas (1515-1586). From 1519 to 1545 Cranach
served on the Wittenberg city council; he was burgo-
master on three occasions. He was also a close friend of
Martin Luther. Circa 1550 Cranach went to Augsburg to
join his then-patron, Elector John Frederick of Saxony,
whom he accompanied in 1552 to Weimar, where he died
the following year.AELBERT CUYP
Dordrecht 1620-1691
Cuyp trained in Dordrecht with his father, Jacob Ger-
ritsz. Cuyp, later collaborating with him on works such
as Family Portrait in a Landscape of 1641 (Jerusalem, IsraelARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES 331