The Divine Painter named after Perugia

Fifteenth-century influential artist Il Perugino the subject of an exhibition at the National Gallery of Umbria

The National Gallery of Umbria is hosting the first major exhibition of the paintings of Perugino, one of the greatest artists of the 15th century, universally known for his role in renewing, with Leonardo and Botticelli, the artistic language of the Renaissance.
The contemporaries of Pietro Vannucci, aka "il Perugino" (b. 1450-d. 1523), already called him "a divine painter". Giorgio Vasari, who wrote The Lives of the Artists in the mid-1500s and who had little love for Perugino, said of his art, "It was so loved in his time, that many came from France, Spain, Germany, and elsewhere to learn it."
Perugia, the town that gave him his nickname, has been 'invaded' by his art since a series of events will intermix with the different exhibitions hosted in many local museums. In addition to the National Gallery, the ancient dungeons under the Rocca Paolina Exhibition Centre will host works by artists who were influenced by the great painter. St. Peter's Abbey accommodates a collection of precious miniatures painted in the age of Perugino. Città della Pieve, Perugino's birthplace, opened the gates of its elegant Crown Palace to a multidisciplinary exhibition on Perugino landscapes. The National Museum of Ceramics, in Deruta, has assembled many precious ceramics from the 15th and 16th century, borrowing them from private as well as public collections. The church of St. Francis, in Corciano, hosts an exhibition of devotional paintings, a genre that Perugino embraced in his later years.
The careful selection of artworks traces the artistic and human steps of the master. His early masterpieces - coming from Berlin, Birmingham, Liverpool, New York, and Paris - highlight the different components of his training: the diverse art scene in Perugia in the 70s and 80s of the 15th century, the contacts with the figurative culture of Piero della Francesca, Verrocchio, and the Flemish painters.
Pietro Vannucci, "il Perugino", was born in Città della Pieve, a town that at the time was in the domains of the Municipality of Perugia. After an early encounter with the local scene, Perugino developed an affinity - according to Giorgio Vasari's 1550 biography - for Piero della Francesca. In 1472, Perugino enrolled in the prestigious Compagnia di San Luca in Florence, and at the same time began working in Andrea del Verrocchio's workshop.
His long acquaintance with the Florentine art scene left its mark on his artistic expression, so much so that his contemporaries considered him a Tuscan master. For over 20 years, between the late 15th and the early 16th centuries, his fame was immense. He taught Raphael, and ended up being outperformed by his exceptional pupil, although their contemporaries considered them both excellent painters.
His career peaked when he took part in the greatest project of the late 15th century: the decoration of the Sistine Chapel, where he worked from 1481 to 1483, alongside other first-class artists such as Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Cosimo Rosselli, contracted by Pope Sixtus IV. He painted an altar-piece (which was later destroyed to make room for Michelangelo's Universal Judgement) and several panels with stories from the lives of Moses and Jesus, including the famous Christ Giving the Keys to Peter, possibly Perugino's highest expression.
After that, his success was ensured: in order to cope with the demands pouring in from all over Italy, he opened two workshops at the same time, one in Florence and another in Perugia, showing managerial and entrepreneurial skills. Despite that, his customers had to wait for long periods before obtaining one of his works. For instance, Isabella of Este, Marchioness of Mantua, had to wait five years for her Combat of Love and Chastity (1505), currently on exhibit at Paris' Louvre Museum.
Perugino was a genius who brought numerous innovations in lighting, transparence, and colour. His work reached such heights that the father of Raphael dubbed him "divine painter", and the over 300 paintings on display will let visitors understand the reasons for that surname.

Publication Date: 2004-07-25
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