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The Visions of Parmigianino

Source: publishtime:2025-01-10 23:56:16

Posted inArt Reviews

The Visions of Parmigianino

The artist’s career in Rome was curtailed by the sacking of the city in 1527 by the armies of Charles V but they were so impressed by his visionary painting that they spared his life. by Michael Glover

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She is stepping down, earthbound, her quite large, sandaled left foot placing itself on the rocky outcrop that is within convenient reach. This great altarpiece, with its tremendous drama, seems to be poised between the sacred and the sensual; therein lies at least part of its fascination. 

Parmigianino’s painting career in Rome was brutally curtailed by the sacking of the city — in May of 1527 it was invaded and laid to waste by the armies of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. According to his biographer, Vasari, when the troops burst into the artist’s studio, they were so impressed (and perhaps cowed) by the extravagance and intensity of his visionary painting that they spared both his work and his life.

Parmigianino, “The legs and drapery of a recumbent figure” (about 1525–27), black and white chalk on gray-blue paper, ∼7 1/2 x 10 inches (19.3 x 25 cm); The Royal Collection / HM King Charles III (© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2024 | Royal Collection Trust)
Parmigianino, “Drapery Study for the Madonna in the Vision of Saint Jerome” (about 1526–27), black and white chalks on laid paper, ∼9 x 6 1/3 inches (23.2 x 16.1 cm); Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford (image © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford)
Parmigianino, “Studies of the Christ Child, a Crucifix and Dogs” (verso) (about 1525–27), red chalk on paper, 5 5/16 x 8 11/16 inches (13.5 x 22.1 cm); The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (image courtesy the Getty’s Open Content Program)
Parmigianino, “Study for a Composition of the Virgin and Christ Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome below” (recto) (1526–27), pen and brown ink, with brown wash, heightened with white (oxidized), over red chalk on paper, ∼10 x 6 1/10 inches (25.8 x 15.6 cm); British Museum, London (© The Trustees of the British Museum)

Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome continues at the National Gallery (Trafalgar Square, London, England) through March 9, 2025. The exhibition was curated by Maria Alambritis.

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