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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, active in central Italy. His name was Giovanni di Pietro, but he was known as ''Lo Spagna'' because he was of Spanish heritage. He was an important assistant and follower of the

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

n painter

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

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

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

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

Todi Todi (; ''Tuder'' in antiquity) 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 view ...

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

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

. Lo Spagna married Santina Martorelli from one of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

'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 Luigi Lanzi, Lanzi and others claim he was 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) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by col ...

. 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. It is one of I Borghi più bel ...

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 Italy, 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 c ...

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 Ye ...

'', or Marriage of Joseph and Mary, in the museum at

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, attributed to

, has been credited to Lo Spagna by scholars in the past. The

Capitoline Museums The Capitoline Museums () are a group of art and archaeology, 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 Palazzo Nuovo, facing ...

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

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and the Nine Muses''. The

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

, has three paintings by Lo Spagna, two small panels depicting ''Christ Carrying the Cross'' and ''Christ at Gethsemane'' that were once probably two wings of a portable altarpiece; and a larger panel of ''The Agony in the Garden'', all dated to perhaps 1500-05. 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