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

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

, 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 The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...

until around 1640. He was employed by Pope

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

in the decoration of the library of the Vatican and in the decoration of the Scala Santa in San Giovanni Laterano. In the latter, he painted, ''Moses striking the Rock'' and ''Moses with the Brazen Serpent''. Said to have been a pupil of

Federico Barocci Federico Barocci (also written Barozzi) ( – 30 September 1612) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly esteemed and influential, and foresha ...

, Lilio created a popular niche for himself by painting

allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

for aristocratic audiences. In fact, it is altogether possible that Lilio collaborated for the illustrations of

Cesare Ripa Cesare Ripa (, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian Renaissance scholar and iconography, iconographer. Life Little is known about his life. The scant biographical information that exists derives from his one very successful work: the ''Iconologia ...

's ''Iconologia'', which was a popular source for such motifs for a very long time. He died at

Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; ; ) is a (municipality) and capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche. Geography The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto, River Tronto and the small Castellano (river), River Castell ...

. 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 Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

during the reign of Pope

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

. 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 Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

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 The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is a historic house museum in the Montenapoleone district of downtown Milan, northern Italy. The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum's permanent collections principally contain Italian Renaissance decorative arts (such as ma ...

.*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 Italian Mannerist painters Italian Renaissance painters {{Italy-painter-16thC-stub