Piero Bonaccorsi (1501 – October 19, 1547), known as Perino (or Perin) del Vaga, was an Italian painter and draughtsman of the Late

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 ...

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

Biography

Perino was born near

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. His father ruined himself by gambling, and became a soldier in the invading army of Charles VIII. His mother died when he was but two months old; but shortly afterwards he was taken up by his father's second wife. Perino was first apprenticed to a druggist, but soon passed into the hands of a mediocre painter, Andrea de' Ceri,Noted in Vasari's biography. and when eleven years of age, of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Perino was one of Ghirlandaio's most talented pupils. Another mediocre painter, Vaga from Toscanella, undertook to settle the boy in

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, ...

. Perino, when he at last reached Rome, was utterly poor, and with no clear prospect beyond journey-work for trading decorators. He was eventually entrusted with some of the subordinate work undertaken by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

in the Vatican. He assisted Giovanni da Udine in the stucco and arabesque decorations of the Loggie Vaticane, and executed some of those small but finely composed scriptural subjects which go by the name of Raphael's Bible, Raphael himself furnishing the designs. Perino's examples are: ''Abraham and Isaac'', ''Jacob wrestling with the Angel'', ''Joseph and his Brothers'', the ''Hebrews crossing the Jordan'', ''Fall and Capture of Jericho'', ''Joshua commanding Sun to stand still'', ''Birth of Christ'', ''Baptism and the Last Supper''. Some of these are in bronze-tint, while others are in full color. He also painted, after Raphael's drawings, figures of the planets in the great hall of the Appartamenti Borgia. Perino was soon regarded as his major assistant, second only to Giulio Romano. To Raphael himself he was always exceedingly attentive. His solo works in the city include the hall of Palazzo Baldassini (1520–1522), a noble building in the center of the city, and the ''Pietà'' in the church of Santo Stefano del Cacco. After Raphael's death in 1520 and the plague of 1523, a troubled period ensued for Perino. He returned to

, and befriended Rosso Fiorentino and executed an admirable design of ''10,000 Martyrs'' (now lost).

Work in Genoa

In 1527,

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was an Italian statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. From 1528 until his death, Doria exercised a predominant influe ...

invited Perino to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

to decorate the newly rebuilt Villa del Principe. Work commenced in 1529, with Perino employing a style similar to that of Giulio Romano in the Mantuan Palazzo Te. The finished palace contained frescoes of mythological and historical subjects, augmented by fanciful and graceful arabesque work and by sculptural details in stucco. Among the principal works are: the ''War between the Gods and Giants'', ''Horatius Cocles defending the Bridge'', and the ''Fortitude of Mutius Scaevola''. The most important work of all, the ''Shipwreck of Aeneas'', is no longer extant. Perino also executed numerous altarpieces and designs for tapestries, rapidly founding a quasi-Roman school of art in the Ligurian city. He made two visits to

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, and began some painting in the cathedral. A year later, Perino returned to Rome and frescoed the Pucci Chapel in the Trinità dei Monti.

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

granted him a regular salary. He retouched many works of Raphael. He painted the decoration for the Pauline Chapel and other halls of Castel Sant'Angelo, some frescoes in the church of San Marcello, a monochrome in the Stanza della Segnatura in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

and a cartoon of the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

. Perino was engaged in the general decoration of the Sala Reale, begun by Paul III when he died on October 19, 1547, in Rome. He is buried in the Pantheon. His work in the Castel Sant'Angelo was continued by his student Pellegrino Tibaldi.

Assessment and legacy

Del Vaga's style was renowned for his vitality and elegance. His paintings are considered important in the mediation between the Roman

esque tradition and the first Florentine

. He combined the manners of Raphael and Andrea del Sarto. Many of his works were engraved, even in his own lifetime. Daniele da Volterra, Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, Luzio Romano and Marcello Venusti (also known as ''il Mantovano'') were among his principal assistants.

Notes

References

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External links

''The engravings of Giorgio Ghisi''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Perino del Vaga (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaga, Perin Del 1501 births 1547 deaths Painters from Florence 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Renaissance painters