THE LIFE & TIMES OF PIEVE’S MAESTRO PAINTER

Il Perugino

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On this the 500th anniversary of Perugino’s death, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to examine the life and times of Città della Pieve’s most famous and beloved son. I had only heard of Perugino once in an art history class back in the 90’s, when my Professor was discussing the Sistine Chapel. But he only briefly brushed over Perugino’s contribution, No pun intended before swiftly turning his focus to the great Michelangelo. It wasn’t until I moved to Italy and moreover Città Della Pieve that I came to appreciate how prolific and influential he really was. His work gave rise to two key painting techniques—The use of a central focal point and a seemingly infinite landscape. So lets dive into the fascinating life of this artistic genius who hailed from the little hill top town that I call home.

Who Was Perugino?

Many of the details of Pietro Perugino’s life are up for debate, but there are a few key points that historians agree upon:

Pietro Perugino (c. 1450-1523 CE), who’s real name was Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance artist who created frescoes for the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel and was in demand across Italy to decorate church interiors and produce portraits of the ruling class. Perugino was renowned for creating a sense of space, depth and dimension in his works, especially between the main action in the foreground and the beautifully rendered architecture and landscapes in the background. Perugino’s use of space and perspective was revolutionary and would go on to influence many of the high Renaissance artist including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Early life

Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci was born into a humble family around 1450 in Cittá della Pieve. He lived in relative poverty until he made his name as an artist. It is believed that Perugino began studying painting at the age of 20 and most likely studied under the celebrated Umbrian artist Piero della Francesca whose interest in colour and mathematical perspective clearly influenced the young Perugino.

Then in late 1470 he moved to Florence and attended one of the most famous artistic workshops of the time, that of Andrea del Verrocchio. In the Florentine environment, he was able to perfect his technique. It is here where Perugino came into contact with Leonardo, Botticelli, Lorenzo di Credi, Ghirlandaio and Filippo Lippi.

1472 marks the end of the apprenticeship period with the Verrocchio workshop and the beginning of his career as an independent artist. It is around this time we find Perugino mentioned in the written records as one of the painters working at the Compagnia di San Luca.

Early success

His first successful works came just after he left his apprenticeship in Florence towards the end 1472, with a series called Le Storie di San Bernardino. This work consisted of eight small wooden boards produced by multiple painters, all under the direction of Perugino. Then in 1473 he was commissioned to paint the masterpiece known as the Adoration of the Magi by the Baglioni family of Città della Pieve as featured in the the picture below. This work has been beautifully restored and is on show in the historic town centre. This stunning fresco was so well received that word spread quickly about this new young talented revolutionary artist.

After the success of the Adoration of the Magi, Perugino was called to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV with a task of great prestige: to decorate the apse of the Chapel of the Concatenation in the ancient Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, also known as the Basilica of Constantine which he worked on between 1478 and 147. Sadly these works of Perugino were destroyed in 1609, when the old church was demolished to leave room for the construction of the current building.

By 1480, Perugino was in great demand in Rome and Florence and it was during this period he received the nickname “Perugino,” or “man from Perugia” (then the largest city in Umbria). He (along with his friend and fellow painter Pinturicchio) painted several frescoes in the Sistine Chapel for Pope Sixtus IV, including The Baptism of Christ, Moses and Zipporah, and his most famous work, Delivery of the Keys. The success he obtained in Rome procured him many commissions and also an honorary citizenship of the city of Perugia . Interestingly, Perugino was never affiliated with a princely court unlike like most of his contemporaries making him one of the first freelance artist in history. This would be the golden age of Perugino as he fellow artists and critics regarded him as one of the leading painters in Florence and Rome in the 1480s and was revered as the “best master in Italy”.

The Perugia Workshop

During this period, to keep up with demand, Perugino ran workshops in both Perugia and Florence where young artists were trained in his ground breaking techniques. This included one future super-star of the Renaissance, Raphael Sanzio. Raphael would adopt his master’s interest in creating a sense of space in his paintings and frescoes – see below, his 1504 Marriage of the Virgin (Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan). Perugino was now being asked to paint across Italy, especially for portraits, he received commissions from Mantua, Naples, Orvieto, Siena and as far north as Venice.

Altarpieces showing the Virgin Mary and saints were another ever-popular product of Perugino’s workshops where he and his assistants produced drawings from real-life models. These drawings – of heads, torsos, various postures, etc. – would then be combined to create a unique set of individuals for each altarpiece design.

This efficiency was not so appreciated by art critics, especially the rival Florentines who made fun of Perugino’s recycling of the artistic ideas that had brought him so much success earlier in his career. Michelangelo was not impressed with Perugino’s work either and called it primitive. The sting was enough for Perugino to go before a magistrate over the matter but this did nothing to improve his reputation. His reluctance to change would ultimately be his downfall.

In 1493 he married Chiara Fancelli, daughter of the architect Luca, she was to become his inspiration and muse. Her delicate beauty would come to inspire the face of the Madonna in Perugino’s sacred works for the rest of his career. Among theses most important works commissioned by the city of Perugia was the Sposalizio della Vergine, made for the Chapel of Sant’Anello in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo (now preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts in Caen, France).

Despite the growing adversity to his work in Florence, he managed to continue to work in Rome, Venice and Umbria but the rumbles of distain from Florence would soon permeate the rest of the country.

Perugino’s decline

Sadly by 1502, Perugino’s star had completely faded in Florence, thanks to Michelangelo’s continued campaign to unseat Perugino’s popularity and have him branded as a has been and a hack came to fruition. Many critics of the time came to see his work as too formulaic. In particular his tendency to repeat figure types or even whole compositions again and again. Many people believed that he was copying his previously successful techniques and resting on his laurels.

The biggest blow to his diminishing popularity occurred in the early 1504 when he was replaced by his pupil Raphael for a hefty commission at the Incendio del Borgo in the Vatican. 

By the end of 1504 Perugino would return to his beloved Umbria, labeled a has been. Crestfallen but not perturbed enough to stop painting. He continued to work endlessly until his death as evidenced by the abundance of his art in Città della Pieve, Panicale, Perugia, Spello, Foligno and Trevi. Most of his works carried out during this period are dominated by his other muse, the beautiful Umbrian landscape. Notably the gentle rolling verdant hills, the azure sky and the mirrored water of Lago Trasimeno whose soft colours are constantly depicted in his later work. So much so that his beautiful painted landscapes of Umbria would become so admired and appreciated the world over.

His art was made up of harmony and silence, Of sweetly nuanced colours, carefully studied perspectives and figures full of delicate grace and sweet melancholy.

Death and legacy

Perugino died in Fontignano in 1523 after contracting the bubonic plague. Although he died in relative poverty his painting techniques became benchmarks of the burgeoning artistic movement in Italy, the High Renaissance, led by his former pupil, Raphael. In 1911 his remains were found and transferred to a funeral monument inside the Church of the Annunziata. Here the artist himself had frescoed the Adoration of the Shepherds. Perugino’s work can now be seen worldwide including in the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican, the National Gallery, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, the Louvre and of course in his home town of Città della Pieve. 

Perugino’s 7 Most Notable Works 

Over the course of his career, Pietro Perugino painted over 175 works, below are some his most famous pieces.

1. Saint Sebastian (1478): located at Cerqueto, near Perugia. This painting is Perugino’s earliest known work, depicting an early Christian saint that Perugino would return to throughout his painting career. Only a fragment of this fresco remains—the figures of Saint Roch and Saint Peter are barely visible on either side of Saint Sebastian. 

Come celebrate the Maestro

FROM JULY 2023 THE EXHIBITION – 500 YEARS OF PERUGINO – IN CITTÀ DELLA PIEVE WILL DISPLAY 30 WORKS FROM AROUND THE WORLD NEVER PREVIOUSLY EXHIBITED TOGETHER.

After years of prep work and negotiations, the town of Pieve has secured thirty works of Perugino to be displayed with those already owned. All these artworks by Pieve’s favourite son have previously never been gathered in one location. These works of art will come from across the globe including: Kunsthisorisches Museum-Vienna, Uffizi Gallery-Florence, Museum of Fine Arts- Lyon and National Gallery of Art-Washington DC.

There will be two exhibition venues – Palazzo Della Corgna and the Diocesan Civic Museum of Santa Maria dei Servi – the exhibition will celebrate his life’s work on the 500th anniversary of his death. The inauguration of the exhibition will take place on Saturday, July 1 and his work will be on display through September 30 2023. The exhibit centres around the main themes of his works in Città della Pieve: The Nativity, Baptism, the Deposition from the Cross and the Lord on the dead Christ, which represent some of the most significant moments of his innovative and revolutionary artistic path.

Prior to their arrival in Città della Pieve, you can view some of these great works at Perugia’s Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria from March 4th to June 11th. The museum will exhibit works created by Perugino before 1504, the pieces on display mark the highest point of his career. The exhibit will include – The Crucifixion of the Chigi Chapel in Sant’Agostino in Siena, the Fight between Love and Chastity already in Mantua, now at the Louvre in Paris, and the Marriage of the Virgin for the chapel of the Holy Ring in the Cathedral of Perugia, today at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen (France).

This years celebration of Pietro Vannucci’s life and work will not be limited to his home town of Pieve or even to the province of Umbria. In fact there will be many events in his honour across all the regions where he lived and worked including Lazio, Tuscany, La Marche and beyond. For a full run down of events click here: Perugino2023.org

So save the date for this once in a lifetime, art-lovers event that should not be missed. Plus Città Della Pieve hosts a plethora of great restaurants, galleries and wonderful places to stay. Including our very own recently renovated Grove Cottage immersed in the beautiful landscapes that inspired Perugino and just a short walk from the lively, historic town centre.