Filippo Negroli (ca. 1510–1579) was an

armourer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. Historically armourers were often men, but women could also undertake the occupation: for example Alice la Haubergere worked as an armourer in Cheapside i ...

from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. He was renowned as being extremely skilled, and may be considered the most famous armourer of all time. Working together with his younger brothers Giovan Battista (ca. 1511–1591) and Francesco (ca. 1522–1600) in the Negroli family workshop headed by their father Gian Giacomo Negroli (ca. 1463–1543), Filippo was specialized in repoussé of armour, whereas his brother Francesco was renowned for his

damascening Damascening is the art of inlaying different metals into one another—typically, gold or silver into a darkly oxidized steel background—to produce intricate patterns similar to niello. The English term comes from a perceived resemblance to t ...

skills. Filippo's pieces are considered especially remarkable because they were wrought in steel, rather than the more-easily worked iron that was the traditionally assumed medium. He made

parade armour Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...

for several esteemed clients, including

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

and Guidobaldo II della Rovere. Examples of his work include:
Burgonet
of Charles V at La Real Armería, Madrid, Spain.
Burgonet
t the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

.
Burgonet
at the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

.
Burgonet "Alla Romana Antica"
at

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

.Pyhrr, catalogue no. 39
Armor of the "dauphin" attributed to the future Henry II
at

Musée de l'Armée The Musée de l'Armée (; "Army Museum") is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is served by Paris Métro stations Invalides (Paris Métro and RER), Invalides, Varenne (Paris Métro ...

References

Famous Makers and European Centers of Arms and Armor Production
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. * Fred Stern
Did Napoleon wear armor?
artnet.com - magazine. * Alan R. Williams
The Steel of the Negroli
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. * Stuart W. Pyhrr and Jose-A. Godoy (1988
Heroic Armor of the Italian Renaissance: Filippo Negroli and his Contemporaries
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

References

Further reading