Federico Zuccari | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Federico Zuccaro byFede Galizia, 1604 | |
| Born | c. 1540/1541 |
| Died | (1609-07-20)July 20, 1609 or(1609-08-06)August 6, 1609 (sources vary) (aged 67–69) |
| Known for |
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| Movement | |
Federico Zuccaro, also known asFederico Zuccari andFederigo Zucchero (c. 1540/1541 – July/August 1609), was anItalianpainter,draughtsman,architect andwriter. He worked in various cities inItaly, as well as in other countries such asSpain,France, theSpanish Netherlands andEngland.[1] He was an important representative of lateMannerism inItalian art.[2]
Zuccaro was born inSant'Angelo in Vado, nearUrbino (Marche), then in theDuchy of Urbino. His parents were the painter Ottaviano de Zucharellis, who changed his surname to Zuccaro in 1569, and Antonia Neri.[1] He was the third child of eight. His siblings were calledTaddeo, Bartolomea, Federico, Iacopo, Lucio, Maurizio, Aloysio and Marco Antonio.
In 1550, when he was just 11 years old, his parents brought him to Rome to study law but Federico preferred a career in art. He trained and worked in the workshop of his elder brother Taddeo who had become a successful painter in Rome. He became quickly integrated into the team of his brother and assisted with the workshop's commissions. Around 1560 he was able to join a group of artists who worked for popePius IV at the Vatican where he made decorations for theCasino in the garden and the cycle with theHistory of Moses at theBelvedere which were commenced in 1560. He helped his brother on the fresco decorations at theVilla Farnese at Caprarola.
He left his work on this commission to travel toVenice to work for a private Venetian patron,Giovanni Grimani, the patriarch ofAquileia. He made decorations for thePalazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa in Venice and painted frescoes and the altarpiece of the patriarch's chapel inSan Francesco della Vigna. During this period in Venice, he met the prominent architectPalladio and the Florentine writerAnton Francesco Doni. They were active in various literary and artistic academies to which they introduced him. He collaborated with Palladio on the design of sets for the theater companyCompagnia della Calza degli Accesi and in March 1565 they visited togetherCividale del Friuli. He tried unsuccessfully to obtain the commissions for the decoration of theScuola di San Rocco and the wall with the Paradise fresco in theDoge's Palace. He used his period in Venice to copy works of other masters of the 15th and 16th centuries, including some pages of the preciousGrimani Breviary, a manuscript illumination produced by Flemish artists between 1515 and 1520.[3]
In 1565, Zuccaro left Venice and traveled to Florence where he had been introduced to some important people by his Florentine friends in Venice. He arrived not long before the elaborate wedding of the Grand Duke of TuscanyFrancesco I de' Medici withJoanna of Austria in December 1565.Giorgio Vasari, who was in charge of the organisation of the artistic and decorative preparations for the festive occasion, entrusted him with the painting of some stories ingrisaille. These served as decorations of the fake arch and the great drop scene that closed off one of the sides of the Sala dei Cinquecento in thePalazzo Vecchio, where the wedding was to take place. A preparatory sketch in colour depicting hunting scenes near Florence is the only item that survives in relation to his contribution.[3]
After returning to Rome in 1566, he found artistic success with hisAnnunciation (lost) in the church of the Jesuits in Piazza del Collegio Romano and frescoes in theVilla d'Este at Tivoli. His brother Taddeo died suddenly, aged 37, on 2 September 1566. He took over all the ongoing commissions of his brother. This kept him busy for many years. He worked extensively on the fresco decorations at theVilla Farnese at Caprarola.[3] In summer 1569, a conflict over payments arose between Zuccaro and Cardinal Farnese. As a result, Federico was sent away from Caprarola where he was replaced byJacopo Bertoia of Parma. Upset by this event, Federico painted and then made copies of a satirical composition which was inspired by the lost painting of the ancient Greek painterApelles called theCalumny of Apelles as described by the ancient authorLucian. In the painting Apelles had expressed his unhappiness with his ignorant patronKing Midas. In his painting, Zuccaro depicts King Midas with donkey ears while the painter hero is led away under the protection of the Roman godMercury.[4] In this painting Zuccaro for the first time expressed his feeling of being misunderstood by an ignorant patron that would accompany him in the remainder of his career. In 1569, with Taddeo's team of assistants dispersed, Federico began to work mostly for the free market.[3]
_-_Calumny_-_RCIN_405695_-_Royal_Collection.jpg)
On 22 June 1573, he set out for Paris after accepting to work in the service ofCharles, Cardinal of Lorraine, a member of the powerfulHouse of Guise. He arrived in Paris on 24 August 1573. He may have seenLeonardo da Vinci'sMona Lisa when he visited thePalace of Fontainebleau near Paris.[3] From Paris he traveled on 14 August 1574 to Antwerp where he arrived six days later. He visitedBrussels, where he prepared a series of cartoons for thetapestry-weavers. On 16 March 1575 he left Antwerp for England, where he stayed until 8 August 1575. In England he received a commission fromRobert Dudley, Earl of Leicester to portray himself andQueen Elizabeth.[5] Only the preparatory drawings for the two portraits are preserved. The drawings are inscribed with the date “1575” and “in london magio 1575.”[1] He also paintedMary, Queen of Scots, SirNicholas Bacon, SirFrancis Walsingham,Lord High Admiral Howard.[6] Upon learning that the Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici wished to commission him with the completion of theLast Judgement in the dome ofSanta Maria del Fiore in Florence, left unfinished by Giorgio Vasari upon his death in 1574, he immediately decided to return to Italy. On his return trip, he stopped over in Antwerp from 18 to 30 August.[1]
In the execution of theLast Judgement in Florence he only relied in Vasari's general proportional scheme while creating his own original design by changing the manner of representation, technique and style. He painted a portrait of aMan with Two Dogs in thePitti Palace (Florence), and theDead Christ and Angels in theGalleria Borghese (Rome). In 1585, he accepted an offer byPhilip II of Spain to decorate the newEscorial at a yearly salary of 2,000 crowns. He worked at the palace from January 1586 to end of 1588, when he returned to Rome. His paintings (like those ofEl Greco before him) were not in line with the austere artistic preferences of the king and many were painted over or heavily retouched after he left. However the parting was amicable: "We must not blame him, but those who sent him to us", said Philip.[7] He was succeeded byPellegrino Tibaldi. In Rome, he obtained a charter confirmed byPope Sixtus V approving the establishment in 1595 of theAccademia di San Luca, of which he was the first president.[6]Bartolomeo Carducci is said to have studied with him.
In 1603, he spent time in his birthplace Sant'Angelo in Vado, where he completed the Zuccari altarpiece at the monastery of Santa Caterina. He was in Venice, where he perfected the work in the Great Council room at the Doge Palace (signed, dated “1582 / PERFECIT AN. 1603” and bearing his emblem, a lily sugar loaf). He was given a gold necklace and the title ofcavaliere knight as his reward for completing this work.[1] From Venice he travelled toPavia where, together withCesare Nebbia, he frescoed the hall of theCollegio Borromeo, a work commissioned by CardinalFederico Borromeo.[8][9]
Zuccari travelled from one court to another. The last stages of his journey took him to Emilia and Romagna. Following a brief illness, he died in July or August 1609, inAncona, in the home of a gentleman with whom he was staying and who arranged for his burial.[3]
He was a prolific draughtsman and left a large number of preliminary studies for his paintings. He is the author of one of the most complete illustrations of theDivina Commedia ofDante which he created between 1586 and 1588 during his stay in Spain. The set of 88 sheets was kept by the artist throughout his life and were part of his estate at the time of his death.[2] The sheets are now in the collection of theUffizi in Florence.[10]
He created around in 1595 a series of 20 drawings, which illustrate the early life of his older brother Taddeo, starting with the hardships and disappointments during the period of his training in Rome until his first artistic successes at the age of 18. In addition to 16 scenes depicting Taddeo's life, the series includes four drawings of allegorical Virtues flanking the Zuccaro emblem. The set is kept at theGetty Center.[11]
Zuccaro also published books on art theory and art history.[6] In his bookL'idea de' Pittori, Scultori, ed Architetti (1607) he sets out a complex theoretical exposition on the idea of design.[1]
The fresco projects he worked on include:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Middleton, John Henry (1911). "Zuccaro". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 1047.
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