Peruzzi, Baldassare
Peruzzi, Baldassare
An architect and painter, born at Siena, 7 March, 1481; died at Rome, 6 Jan., 1537. He derived much benefit from the years of apprenticeship under Bramante, Raphael, and Sangallo during the erection of St. Peter’s. An evidence of his genius for independent work is the Palazzo Massimi alle Colonne, which he began in 1535. Almost all art critics ascribe also to him the Villa Farnesina. In this, two wings branching off from a central hall, a simple arrangement of pilasters, and a beautiful frieze on the exterior of the building, airy halls, and a few splendid rooms are combined in excellent taste. The paintings which adorn the interior are for the most part by Peruzzi. The decoration of the façade, the work of Peruzzi, has almost entirely perished. To decorate this villa on the Tiber a number of second-rate artists were employed, and just as the style of the villa in no wise recalls the old castellated type of country-house, so the paintings in harmony with the pleasure-loving spirits of the time were thoroughly antique and uninspired by Christian ideas. It seems that Raphael designed the composition of the story of Amor and Psyche as a continuation of the Galatea. On a plate-glass vault Peruzzi painted the firmament, with the zodiacal signs, the planets, and other heavenly bodies, his perspective being so skilful as to deceive even the eye of Titian. The close proximity of Raphael’s work has overshadowed Peruzzi in the ceiling decoration of the Stanza d’Eliodoro in the Vatican. While Raphael designed the mural paintings and, it may be, the entire plan for the decoration of the hall, it is certain that the tapestry-like frescoes on the ceiling are to be ascribed to Peruzzi. Four scenes represent God’s saving omnipotence as shown in the case of Noe, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. The manifestation of the Lord in the burning bush and the figure of Jehovah commanding Noe to enter the ark were formerly considered works of Raphael. But some time before, Peruzzi had produced for the church of S. Croce in Gierusalemme a mosaic ceiling, the beautiful keystone of which represented the Saviour of the world. Other paintings ascribed to him are to be found in S. Onofrio and S. Pietro in Mostorio. That Peruzzi improved as time went on is evident in his later works, e.g., the “Madonna with Saints” in S. Maria della Pace at Rome, and the fresco of Augustus and the Triburtine Sibyl in Fontegiusta at Siena. As our master interested himself in the decorative art also, he exercised a strong influence in this direction, not only by his own decorative paintings but also by furnishing designs for craftsmen of various kinds.
———————————–
REDTENBACHER, Peruzzi und seine Werke (Karlsruhe, 1875); WEESE, Baldassare Peruzzi’s Anteil an dem malerischen Schumcke der Villa Farnesina (Leipzig, 1894); RICHTER, Siena (Leipzig); STEINMANN, Rem in der Renaissance (Leipzig); GEUNER, Fresco Decorations and Stuccoes of Churches and Palaces in Italy (London, 1854).
G. GIETMANN. Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XICopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Peruzzi, Baldassare
an eminent Italian painter and architect, was born at Accajano, near Siena, Tuscany, Jan. 15, 1480. He was the child of poor parents, but by dint of persevering effort he succeeded in obtaining a knowledge of painting from some unknown master in his native city, and afterwards pursued his studies in Rome. While there he formed an intimacy with Raffaelle, for whom he had the most ardent admiration. He attained great eminence at Rome, and received patronage from many of the nobility, and also from pope Alexander VI. In perspective and architecture on which subject he left several MSS. he especially distinguished himself; and was even preferred to Bramante, under whom he is said to have studied. Indeed, his work in this branch of art was so skillfully done, and so closely imitated bass-reliefs and real architecture, that the most perfect illusions were produced; and it is said that his perspectives in the arches of the ceiling at the Farnese palace, representing the History of Perseus and other mythological subjects embellished with bass-reliefs, were so admirably executed that Titian himself was deceived by them, and was only convinced of his error by observing the works from other points of view. He was employed in designing and ornamenting numerous churches, palaces, and chapels, all of which were masterpieces, the Palazzo Massimo being considered one of the most original and tasteful edifices in Rome. He was architect of St. Peter’s, at Rome, being employed for that work by pope Leo X, with a salary of two hundred and fifty crowns per annum. His frescos were marvels of beauty, and evinced remarkable talent. He also achieved great excellence in grotesques, a style of painting which affords unlimited scope for the play of the imagination.
With the ability to comprehend its principles, he combined rare judgment and good taste, exhibiting surprising skill in the arrangement and adaptation of figures as devices emblematic of stories which they surrounded. It is said too that he engraved on wood, and that he wrote a treatise on the Antiquities of Rome, and a Commentary on Vitruvius, which he purposed to illustrate with wood-engravings. His oil-paintings are rare, but among those mentioned are the Adoration of the Magi, in the National Gallery at London; Charity, in the Museum at Berlin; and a piece containing half-length figures of the Virgin, St. John, and St. Jerome. Critics are unanimous in commendation of his grandeur of conception, purity of design, and nobleness of execution; and Lanzi says of him, If other artists surpassed him in the vastness of their works, they never did in excellence. He always remained poor, being too modest to push his way among rivals; and, though patronized by the nobility, he received a merely nominal compensation for his best works. Pursued during his life by misfortune, he died poisoned by a rival in the prime of his manhood, in 1536. Artists of every class assisted at his obsequies, and he was buried in the Pantheon by the side of Raffaelle. The greatness of his talent was recognized after his death; and posterity pays its just tribute to his wonderful genius. Among his other works were The Judgment of Paris; The Sibyl announcing to Augustus the Birth of Christ; and several pieces representing Bible history, among which were three events in the history of Jonah. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, 39:675; Spooner, Biog. Hist. of the Fine Arts, 2:679.