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Perugino

Full Name: Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci

Nickname/Alias: Perugino

Achievements: “The Giving of the Keys to Saint Peter”

Born: 1450; Città della Pieve, near Perugia, Italy

Died: February 1523; Fontignano, near Perugia, Italy

Field & Discipline: Art; Painting

Language: Italian

Father: Cristoforo Vannucci

Mother: Unknown

Siblings: Names Unknown

Spouse: Chiara Fancelli

Children: Unknown

Education: Trained under a Perugian painter, Andrea del Verrocchio, and Piero della Francesca

Life & Times:

Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci was born around 1450 near Perugino in the region of Umbria, Italy.  Known by the nickname “Il Perugino,” denoting his origins, Vanucci trained first with a local painter from Perugia and later in the workshop of Andrea del [influenced by] Verrocchio* in Florence where he met Leonardo [met] Da Vinci*.

At some time during this period, Perugino was also trained by Piero [influenced by] della Francesca*. By 1472 Perugino belonged to the Florentine artist’s guild, the Compagnia di S Luca. Little is known of Perugino’s early works, but in 1475 he received payment for work in the Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia.

The first work establishing Perugino’s own style is the “Adoration of the Magi” painted around 1475 for the church of the Servites in Colle Landone and later moved to Santa Maria Nuova in Perugia.  He combined a structural composition of figures and sculptural landscape with a dense surface treatment that established a sense of realism. A second important work from Perugino’s early period is a fresco of Saints Roch, Sebastian and Peter in the parish church in Cerqueto. Although in fragments, the fresco demonstrates the clear figures and bright colors that were later hallmarks of Perugino’s works.

In 1479, Pope Sixtus IV commissioned a fresco by Perugino for his Cappella della Concezione. Perugino partnered with [collaborated with] Pinturicchio*.  The Pope liked the fresco so much that he asked Perugino to work on the restored Sistine Chapel.  Perugino worked with [worked with] Botticelli* who was responsible for the overall decoration but it has been suggested that Perugino planned the decoration and executed the main contribution.

Some of Perugino’s paintings were later destroyed and replaced by Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement.”  His work still survives in several other areas including the North Wall in “The Giving of the Keys to Saint Peter.”

Other artists were brought in to finish the decorations including [met] Ghirlandaio*, Rosselli, [met] Signorelli*, and Bartolomeo della Gatta.  Around 1487, Perugino is also believed to have collaborated with Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and [collaborated with] Lippi* on a series of frescos for [worked for] Lorenzo de’ Medici*.

After the completion of the Sistine Chapel, Perugino returned to Florence. He was commissioned to work in the Palazzo della Signoria and in 1491 was selected to be part of the committee finishing the cathedral. The decade between 1490 and 1500 was the most productive and artistic of Perugino’s life.

In 1493 he married Chiara Fancelli, established a workshop in Florence, and rented  a studio from [rented studio from] Ghiberti* near Santa Maria Nuova.  He painted his most famous fresco, “Crucifixion,” around the same time for Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi.  The “Crucifixion” demonstrates Perugino’s use of perspective.  In 1496, Perugino was commissioned to decorate the Perugian money changer’s guild, the Collegio del Cambio. Completed around 1500, it is commonly accepted that [taught] Raphael* was Perugino’s student during the completion of these frescos.

After 1500, Perugino began to be criticized for repeating the same compositions. [criticized by] Michelangelo* even called him a bungler of art.   In 1503 [commissioned by] Isabella d’Este* commissioned the painting “Combat of Love and Chastity,” which was delivered in 1505. Perugino left Florence in 1505 and established a studio in Perugia.  In 1508, he painted the roundels on the ceiling of the Stanza dell’Incendio di Borgo at the Vatican. His final commission was in 1521 to finish a series of frescos started by Raphael in San Severo, Perugia.  He was still painting when he died of the plague in February of 1523.

Perugino has often been overlooked in the years since his death. When he is acknowledged it is often only as Raphael’s teacher.  The subject of a biography by [biographer was] Vasari* in 1550, Perugino was considered an equal of Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael and a precursor to later, more mature styles.

Perugino is generally considered one of the best-known artists of the Umbrian school and is recognized as a transitional figure even though he did not always understand the transitions he was part of.   He didn’t understand the criticism he got for repeating figures from one work to another,  because previously this had been common practice. The evolution of his painting also demonstrates the transitions that were occurring in the use of perspective and composition styles.

Assessment: He contributed to the evolution of Renaissance painting and our understanding of that transition through the use of new techniques.

Oneliner: Perugino, Renaissance artist

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