Early life and career
Due to lack of accurate documentation, very little is known about the first three decades of Ligorio's life. It is estimated that he was born inCareer at the Vatican
Pope Paul IV (1555–1559)
When Paul IV became Pope, he was interested in hiring a fellow Neapolitan as the Vatican Architect. Three years into his papacy, in 1558, he hired Ligorio as the Architetto Fabricae Palatinae, meaning Architect of the Vatican Palace. His assistant was Sallustio Peruzzi. His first and most prominent work was on the chapel in the newly built Papal apartment. Construction of the residential areas had been prioritized, allowing Paul to move in by October 1556. The chapel, however, remained unfinished and was tasked to Ligorio. He designed two large angel paintings for the space, and finished the project in about ten months. Around the same time, he received the commission to create a casino for the pope near Belvedere Court. This project was stalled due to financial concerns, but would later become one of Ligorio's cornerstone projects under the patronage of Pope Pius IV. Paul IV also pursued major renovations to the papal palace in this time period. In particular, Paul aimed to increase the flow of light in the Hall of Constantine. Ligorio, as his most trusted architect, was chosen to remedy the darkness problem. They chose to destroy the old papal apartment and incorporate a rooftop garden into the space, allowing more light to enter the Hall of Constantine. Towards the end of Paul IV's tenure, he asked Ligorio to design a monstrance, or tabernacle, to be used for special papal trips. It was to be stored in the newly designed chapel. Unfortunately, Paul died while the project was still in its early stages. The following pope, however, greatly valued continuation of unfinished projects, and ordered that Ligorio finish the monstrance. Upon completion, it was sent to Milan as a gift to the Duomo.Pope Pius IV (1559–1565)
Pius IV rose to the papacy in 1559, already holding a reputation as a strong patron of the arts—architecture especially. In fact, within the first three years of his pontificate, he spent a million and a half gold scudi on building projects. His approach was unique in that he prioritized finishing incomplete projects, rather than starting new ones. This aligned well with Ligorio's values, specifically his desire to restore fragmented artifacts and preserve classical antiquities. Under Pius IV, Ligorio was once again paired with his assistant, Sallustio Peruzzi. Their first major project was remodeling the Vatican Library in 1560. Some records suggest plans to create an entirely new library, but due to lack of funding, these updates likely involved smaller-scale woodworking and masonry by Ligorio. He was also tasked with smaller projects in this time, such as masonry work and apartment building throughout the palace. In May 1560, Ligorio received a commission of great significance: the continuation of Paul's plans for the papal casino. Located in the woods behind the Belvedere court, Pius' revamped plans for the space included a second story, large fountain, and oval courtyard with arched entryways. The decorations matched Ligorio's preferred Raphaelesqu style. It was named the Casino of Pius IV in honor of the pope who supported its construction. Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt called it "the most beautiful afternoon retreat that modern architecture has created." On 2 December 1560, Ligorio was awarded with honorary Roman citizenship for his contributions to the culture and architecture of the city. This was a major honor, awarded to only three other people during the sixteenth century: Michaelangelo, Titian, and Fra Guglielmo della Porta. For the remainder of his life, Ligorio identified as both a Neapolitan citizen by birth and a Roman citizen. This recognition also increased the commissions and projects for which Ligorio was pursued, and made the papacy of Pius IV one of Ligorio's busiest times. This period also marked one of Ligorio's most prominent ventures into engineering. Papal duties included protecting the cities in its territory, which involved repairing fortifications in those cities. The duties of a Renaissance architect included consideration of engineering concerns, so Ligorio engaged in these renovations during his time as the Architect of the Vatican. He is particularly remembered for his role in the restoration of theImprisonment
Ligorio's employment at the Vatican was briefly interrupted in the summer of 1565 when he was imprisoned for one week. Allegedly, he had committed fraud by stealing building materials during several of his papal architectural projects. He was investigated extensively and had his writings removed. He was released with little incident, aside from having medallions worth six thousand ''scudi'' removed from his possession. Accusations like these, however, did not help Ligorio's already controversial fame and earlier allegations of forgery against him.Pope Pius V (1566–1572)
Unlike his predecessor, Pius V had little to do with Ligorio; this was mostly due to the two popes' deep-rooted ideological differences. He tasked Ligorio with some minor woodworking and design projects; Ligorio held on to his title of Palace Architect until possibly as late as June 1567. During the final years of his tenure, he actually returned to Ferrara for work.Ferrara
Ippolito II d'Este
In September 1550, before his employment at the Vatican and during his study of classical antiquity, Ligorio was hired by the Cardinal of Ferrara ( Ippolito II d'Este) to accompany him to Tivoli. There, while the Cardinal served as governor, Ligorio managed his antique collection and served as a top advisor. The area was rich with remains of old villas and temples, allowing Ligorio to further his research of Roman antiques and the governor to add to his own personal collection.Villa d'Este
Upon arriving to Tivoli, Ippolito II d'Este decided to turn an old monastery into his own luxury villa. Building would be stalled for the majority of the decade due to changes in Ippolito's duties, but fully resumed in 1560. Giovanni Alberto Galvani served as the main architect, but Pirro Ligorio took charge of the villa's extensive and intricate gardens. These gardens included many waterworks and fountains (utilizing Ligorio's knowledge of aqueduct engineering), as well as a collection of ancient sculpture. Ligorio designed both a larger public garden and a smaller private garden. The latter can be accessed directly from the palace, and utilizes shaded walls to maintain a private retreat. As described by David Coffin, Ligorio's most prominent biographer, Ligorio employed three major themes in these gardens. First and foremost was a focus on the relationship between nature and art—a concern indicative of the Renaissance period. Many of Ligorio's waterworks and sculptures incorporated flora and fauna, marrying the natural aspects of the garden with the man-made artistic elements. The second theme was geographic; Ligorio designed the fountains to represent the three rivers flowing into the Fountain of Rome in an ode to the cardinal's appreciation of the arts. Finally, Ligorio's use of mythological iconography, specifically the influence of the Garden of the Hesperides, was executed with special attentiveness. This incorporation of the imagery of Hercules and his struggle with virtue and vice showcases both Ligorio's knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman mythology, but also the cardinal's Christian faith and moral grounding.Alfonso II d'Este
Much later, at the end of Ligorio's work for the Vatican, he returned to Ferrara yet again—this time in a more purely intellectual role. Beginning in December 1568, he served under Duke Alfonso II d'Este of Ferrara as the Ducal Antiquarian. He also acquired the title of Lector at the University of Ferrara. Ligorio's main duties involved preparing the ducal library and organizing an antique museum for Alfonso's court. He contributed numerous drawings and designs to these records, and continued to foster a reputation of antiquarian knowledge in Ferrara. In 1580, he was named an honorary citizen—adding a third layer to his identity as a Neopolitan and Roman. On 16 November 1570, a major earthquake hit the city of Ferrara and inflicted heavy damage on its architecture. This sparked an interest in Ligorio, who decided to write a treatise on historical earthquakes. He detailed the effects of the Ferrara earthquake for several months, then began developing plans for an earthquake-resistant home. Ligorio diverted from the traditional view of earthquakes as supernatural phenomenon, and treated them as a natural occurrence around which man could reason. Many of the elements he incorporated, including thicker brick walls and stone piers, match modern anti-seismic practices. Again, this shows Ligorio's concern for not just the design, but also the engineering and structural integrity of his buildings.Legacy
Ligorio reportedly died in October 1583 after suffering a particularly rough fall in Ferrara. Despite his major contributions to Renaissance Italian architecture, classical antiquity, and garden design, Pirro Ligorio maintains surprisingly little presence in accounts of that time period. Giovanni Baglioni published the first biography of Ligorio in 1642, which was later replicated in other biographies by Milizia and Nagler, except with numerous factual errors. This may be due, in part, to the lack of documentation regarding Pirro Ligorio's life. The first thirty years of his life, for example, remain almost entirely a mystery. Additionally, many of Ligorio's designs, drawings, and buildings were destroyed over the years, making documentation of his work even more difficult. In the twentieth century, historian David Coffin wrote his dissertation on the life of Ligorio and quickly became the world's foremost expert on the architect. Coffin's book, ''Pirro Ligorio: The Renaissance Artist, Architect, and Antiquarian'', remains the most valuable and complete account of Ligorio's life and works. In the Epilogue of his book, Coffin describes Ligorio's personality as having three main traits: curiosity, imagination, and ambition. His curiosity led him to pursue a multitude of projects and interests, including painting, garden design, engineering, gardening, cartography, and archaeology. His imagination can be seen in the groundbreaking marriage of botany, sculpture, waterworks, and mythology found in the gardens at Tivoli. Finally, his ambition: Ligorio pursued his chosen fields with great focus and fervor, gaining admirers as well as detractors along the way. In particular, Ligorio found an enemy in fellow Renaissance architectNotes
References
* Coffin, David R. ''Pirro Ligorio: The Renaissance Artist, Architect, and Antiquarian''. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004. * Coffin, David R. ''Gardens and Gardening in Papal Rome''. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991. * David R. Coffin. "Ligorio, Pirro." ''Grove Art Online''. ''Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University Press, accessed February 12, 2016, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T051048. MORTII MA-TII * * The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Pirro Ligorio." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed February 12, 2016. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pirro-Ligorio. * Vasari, Giorgio, and De Vere Gaston Du C. ''Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects''. Vol. 2. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.External links