Andrea Lilio (1555 - 1642) was an Italian painter born in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, hence he also is known as ''L'Anconitano''. He painted mainly in his native city, as well as in Rome, where he was active from the beginning of the 17th century until around 1640. He was employed by Pope Sixtus V in the decoration of the library of the Vatican and in the decoration of the Scala Santa in

San Giovanni Laterano The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

. In the latter, he painted, ''Moses striking the Rock'' and ''Moses with the Brazen Serpent''. Said to have been a pupil of Federico Barocci, Lilio created a popular niche for himself by painting allegories for aristocratic audiences. In fact, it is altogether possible that Lilio collaborated for the illustrations of Cesare Ripa's ''Iconologia'', which was a popular source for such motifs for a very long time. He died at

Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; la, Asculum; dialetto ascolano: Ascule) is a town and ''comune'' in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is around 46,000 but the urban area of the city has more than 93,000. Geo ...

. In a chapel of the Chiesa Nuova, he painted ''The Archangel Michael driving fallen angels from Heaven''. He continued to ornament churches and convents of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

during the reign of Pope Clement VIII. One of his masterpieces, the ''Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence'', was painted for Santa Caterina in Ancona. He painted the ''Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples'' for the nave of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. He also was part of the team active in the painting of the ''Sistine chapel (chapel of Nativity)'' in Santa Maria Maggiore. For the cathedral of Fano, he painted a picture of ''All Saints''. Four new allegorical paintings by Lilio were identified in Milan's Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, Milan.*Massimo Pulini, "Lilio allegorista: quattro tele al Museo Bagatti Valsecchi i altre novità," ''Nuovi Studi. Rivista di arte antica e moderna'' 11 (2004/2005): 225-229

References

16th-century births 17th-century deaths People from the Province of Ancona 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 17th-century Italian painters Mannerist painters Renaissance painters {{Italy-painter-16thC-stub