Lo Spagna (died ''c.'' 1529), "the Spaniard" in Italian, was a painter of the

High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...

, active in central Italy. His name was Giovanni di Pietro, but he was known as ''Lo Spagna'' because he was born in Spain. After

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

, he was a main pupil and follower of the

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

n painter

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ea ...

, whose style his paintings develop. He should not be confused with Pietro di Giovanni D'Ambrogio of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

. Lo Spagna is known for a number of major works completed in the region, that include the ''Birth of the Virgin'' from Spineta in

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

, the ''Adoration of the Magi'' of Ferentillo and the ''Nativity'' of St Anthony in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

. Lo Spagna married Santina Martorelli from one of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

's leading families and here he was nominated ''Capitano delle Arti dei Pittori e degli Orefici'' in 1517. He died in 1528, possibly of the plague. Giovanni di Pietro completed the decoration of the apse and two chapels of the church of ''San Giacomo'' in

. The records indicate that some thirty inhabitants of the parish contributed payment for the work, which was completed in 1526. The apse vault is frescoed with the ''Coronation of the Virgin and St James'', while after Lo Spagna's death the chapel frescoes were completed by pupils,

Dono Doni Dono Doni, also known as Adone Doni or Dono dei Doni (1505-1575) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period active mainly in Umbria. Biography Doni was born at Assisi. While is said by Lanzi and others to have been a disciple of Pietro ...

and Cecco di Bernardino of Assisi. The ''Madonna and Child in Glory with St Sebastian and St Rocco'' on the far wall of the church of Campello sul Clitunno was completed by one of his pupils from a preparatory drawing by ''Lo Spagna''. The apse of the church of San Giovanni Battista in the small village of Eggi contains a fresco completed by a hand from ''Lo Spagna''’s studio working from a drawing by the artist. For the church of San Martino, ''Lo Spagna'' completed the large altar-piece of ''Coronation of the Virgin'', (1522), which today hangs in the Museo Civico of

Trevi The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) is a collection of justice as well as migration & home affairs policies designed to ensure security, rights and free movement within the European Union (EU). Fields covered include the harmonisati ...

. For the church of ''Madonna delle Lacrime'' was ''Lo Spagna'' to complete the fresco decorations in the chapel dedicated to St Francis (1518). Around 1520 ''Lo Spagna'' decorated the first altar to the right of the church of Sant’Agostino in

Visso Visso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. It houses the seat of Monti Sibillini National Park. Main sights * San Giacomo c ...

with frescoes, now found in the ''Collegiata di Santa Maria''. ''Lo Spagna'' painted a fresco cycle for the parish church of ''San Michele Arcangelo'' in Gavelli, a hamlet in the township of

Sant'Anatolia di Narco Sant'Anatolia di Narco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 60 km southeast of Perugia, in the middle Valnerina valley. It is a medieval town commanded by a 12th-century castle, ...

near Perugia. The famous ''

Sposalizio :''The painting which inspired this piece of music is also sometimes called the Sposalizio; for it, see Sposalizio (painting).'' Sposalizio is the title of the first piece in Franz Liszt's '' Deuxième Année de Pèlerinage: Italie'' (Second Year ...

'', or Marriage of Joseph and Mary, in the museum at Caen, formerly attributed to

, is now credited to Lo Spagna. The

Capitoline Museums The Capitoline Museums ( Italian: ''Musei Capitolini'') are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Pal ...

in Rome now possess a very beautiful series of life-sized fresco figures by him, representing ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

and the Nine Muses''. Lo Spagna had various pupils and followers, among them Bernardino Campilius.

Gallery

File:Lo Spagna - Vierge à l'Enfant.jpg, Madonna and Child (date unknown), the Louvre, Paris File:Giovanni lo spagna, adorazione dei magi.JPG, Adoration of the Magi (date unknown), Pinacoteca Vaticana File:Frama AssSC037.JPG, Madonna and child with saints and angels (1516) Treasure Museum, Assisi

References

External links

*Review of exhibition: ''Giovanni di Pietro, un pittore spagnolo fra Perugino e Raffaello'' (May 29 – August 1, 200

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietro (Lo Spagna), Giovanni Di 1529 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Renaissance painters Umbrian painters Year of birth unknown Fresco painters