Annunciation (1592-96)
Oil on canvas, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Perugia.

Federico Fiori Barocci (or Baroccio; also Federigo) (1528–1612) was an Italian Counter-Reformation or proto-Baroque painter. His work fills an oft-overlooked period of art; while in his day his work was highly esteemed and influential. Download high resolution version (792x1334, 180 KB)Annunciation by Federigo Barocci (1592-96) Oil on canvas S. Maria degli Angeli, Perugia Source: http://gallery. ... Download high resolution version (792x1334, 180 KB)Annunciation by Federigo Barocci (1592-96) Oil on canvas S. Maria degli Angeli, Perugia Source: http://gallery. ... Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... The Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens. ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ...

Early life and training

He was born at Urbino, Italy, and received his earliest apprenticeship with Battista Franco in Urbino. His early career in Rome was mentored by Taddeo Zuccari and his uncle Bartolomeo Genga. In Rome he worked alongside Federico Zuccari on more than one occasion. Panorama of Urbino with the cathedral and the palazzo ducale Urbino is a city in the Marche in Italy, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site with a great cultural history during the Renaissance as the seat of Federico da Montefeltro. ... Taddeo Zuccaro or Zuccari (1529 -1566), was an Italian painter, one of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school. ... Federigo Zuccaro, Self-portrait, after 1588 Federigo Zuccaro or Federico Zuccari (c. ...

Mature work in Urbino

Barocci is known to have had two long stays in Rome in mid 1500s. During his second soujourn, while completing the decorations for the Vatican Casino of Pius IV, Barocci fell ill with intestinal complaints and feared he had been poisoned by jealous rivals. Fearing his illness was terminal, he left Rome in 1563; four years later he was said to experience a partial remission after prayers to the Virgin [1]. He complained of frail health from then on, though he lived and remained productive for nearly four decades more. While he is described by contemporaries as personally somewhat morose and hypochondriacal; his paintings do not demonstrate these qualities. He never returned to Rome, and was patronized in his native city by Francesco Maria II della Rovere, duke of Urbino. The Ducal Palace can be seen in the background of his paintings, rendered in a forced perspective that seems a holdover from Mannerism. Pius IV, né Giovanni Angelo Medici (March 31, 1499 - December 9, 1565), pope from 1559 to 1565, was born of humble parentage in Milan. ...

While Barocci was removed from Rome, the fulcrum of artistic fame and influence, he continued to attract important altarpiece commissions. At some point he may have seen colored chalk/pastel drawings by Correggio, but Barocci's remarkable pastel studies are the earliest examples of the technique to survive. In pastels and in oil sketches (another technique he pioneered) Barocci's soft, opalescent renderings evoke the ethereal. Antonio Allegri da Correggio Jupiter and Io, 1531 or 32 Antonio Allegri da Correggio (Correggio, Italy August 1489 – March 5, 1534) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. ...

Such studies were part of a complex process Barocci used to complete his altarpieces. An elaborate series of steps leading up to the final product ensured its speed and success in execution. Barocci did innummerable sketches: gestural, compositional, figural studies (using models), lighting studies (using clay models), perspective studies, color studies, nature studies, etc. Today, over 2,000 drawings by him are extant. Every detail of his subsequent cartoons for canvases was worked out in this way. A good example is his famed Madonna del Popolo (Uffizi). It is a vortex of color and vitality, made possible by the great variety of people, poses, perspectives, natural details, colors, lighting and atmospheric effects. There are many surviving drawings for the Madonna del Popolo, from initial sketches to color studies of heads, to the final full size cartoon. The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palace or palazzo in Florence, holding one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. ...

Despite this painstaking process, Barocci's genius kept the brushstrokes passionate and liberated. More should be written about the singular radiance of the master's painting technique, in which a spiritual light seems to flicker as a jewel across faces, hands, drapery, and sky.

Barocci's embrace of the Counter Reformation would shape his long and fruitful career. By 1566, he joined a lay order of Capuchins, an offshoot of Franciscans(Walter Friedlander, Burlington Magazine (1964), p.16-17 reviewing Harold Olsen's book). He may have been influenced by Saint Philip Neri, whose Oratorians sought to reconnect the spiritual realm with the lives of everyday people. Neri, who was somewhat ambivalent about the accumulating richness of his Santa Maria in Vallicella, commissioned two completed works from Barocci, the pre-eminent artists of these large pious altarpieces: The Visitation (1583-6) and Presentation of the Virgin (1593-94). Neri is said to have been moved to ecstasy by Barocci's accomplishment in the former painting, which shows the Virgin and Elizabeth greeting each other. The Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation was a movement within the Catholic Church to reform itself, starting with the middle of the sixteenth century, in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. ... For other uses, see Capuchin (disambiguation). ... Franciscans is the common name used to designate a variety of mendicant religious orders of men or women tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi and following the Rule of St. ... Philip Romolo Neri (Filippo de Neri; called, Apostle of Rome), (July 21, 1515 - May 26, 1595), was an Italian churchman, noted for founding a society of secular priests called the Congregation of the Oratory. He was was born at Florence, the youngest child of Francesco Neri, a lawyer, and his... Chiesa Nuova after restoration (2006). ...

Critical assessment and legacy

The artist biographer Giovanni Bellori, the Baroque equivalent of Giorgio Vasari, considered Barroci among the finest painters of his time. Barocci's emotive brushwork was not lost on Peter Paul Rubens when he was in Italy. Rubens is known to have made a sketch of his dramatic Martyrdom of St Vitale, in which the martyr's undulating flesh is the eye of another whirlwind of figures, gestures, and drama. Ruben's The Martyrdom of St Livinus, for instance, seems to owe much to Barocci, from the putto with the pointing palm frond to the presence of dogs in the lower right corner. Barocci also influenced the Tuscan-Sienese school of painting of Francesco Vanni and Ventura Salimbeni. Giovanni Bellori was an important figure in the seventeenth century Roman artworld. ... Giorgio Vasaris selfportrait Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo, Tuscany July 3, 1511 - Florence, June 27, 1574) was an Italian painter and architect, mainly known for his famous biographies of Italian artists. ... Rubens and Isabella Brant in the Honeysuckle Bower Alte Pinakothek Pieter Pauwel (Peter Paul) Rubens (June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640) was the most popular and prolific Flemish and European painter of the 17th century. ... Christ at the whipping post Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Francesco Vanni, was an Italian (1563 - 1610) Mannerist painter of Siena. ... Saint Hyacinth healing the blind twins Ventura di Archangelo Salimbeni (also later called Bevilacqua) (20 January 1568 - 1613) was an Italian Mannerist painter and the last represntative of this style in Siena after Beccafumi. ...

Barocci's swirling composition and the focus on the emotional and spiritual are elements that foreshadow the Baroque of Rubens. But even in Federico's Proto-Baroque Beata Michelina can see the makings of Bernini's High Baroque masterpiece Ecstasy of St Theresa. A self portrait: Bernini is said to have used his own features in the David (below, left) Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini) (December 7, 1598 - November 28, 1680), who worked chiefly in Rome, was the pre-eminent baroque artist. ... , by Gian Lorenzo Bernini The Ecstasy of St Theresa (alternatively St Teresa in Ecstasy or Transverberation of St Teresa) is a marble masterpiece sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which is part of his complete architectural design, construction, and decoration the Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome completed...

Partial anthology of works

• Martyrdom of St Sebastian (1557) - Duomo, Urbino
• Madonna di San Simone (1567) - Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino[2]
• Deposition (1567-79) - Duomo, Perugia
• Rest on the Flight to Egypt (1570) - Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican[3]
• Nativity (1597) - Museo del Prado, Madrid
• The Vision of Saint Francis - San Francesco, Urbino
• Madonna del Popolo (1575-79) - Uffizi, Florence
• Entombment (1580-82) - Santa Croce, Senigallia
• Martyrdom of San Vitale
• Circumcision - Paris
• Annuciation (1592-96) - Santa Maria degli Angeli, Perugia [4]
• Aeneas' Flight from Troy (1598) - Galleria Borghese, Rome[5]
• St Jerome (1598) - Galleria Borghese, Rome[6] &[7]
• Portrait of Francisco II della Rovere (1572) - Uffizi, Florence[8]
• Christ and Mary Magdalen (Noli me tangere) (1590) - Gemaldegalerie, Munich[9]
• Entombment (etching) (1579-1582) - Getty Museum, Los Angeles[10]
• Quintilia Fischeri (c. 1600) - National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC [11]
• Annunciation (etching) [12]
• St Francis receives the stigmata (drawing) (Accademia Carrara)
• Madonna with Sts Simon and Jude - Palazzo Ducale, Urbino#Galleria Nazionale delle Marche#Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino [13]
• Vocation of Saints Peter and Andrew (1586) - Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Belgium[14]
• The Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph and the Infant Baptist (La Madonna del Gatto) National Gallery, London, [15]

Panorama of Urbino with the cathedral and the palazzo ducale Urbino is a city in the Marche in Italy, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site with a great cultural history during the Renaissance as the seat of Federico da Montefeltro. ... Panorama of Urbino with the cathedral and the palazzo ducale Urbino is a city in the Marche in Italy, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site with a great cultural history during the Renaissance as the seat of Federico da Montefeltro. ... View of Urbino with the Ducal Palace and the Cathedral. ... Panorama of Urbino with the cathedral and the palazzo ducale Urbino is a city in the Marche in Italy, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site with a great cultural history during the Renaissance as the seat of Federico da Montefeltro. ... Perugia is the capital city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ... Entrance to the museum The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City, which display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Museo del Prado is a famous museum and art gallery located in Madrid, Spain. ... Location Coordinates : 40° 23’N , 3°43′0″W Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Villa de Madrid (Spanish) Spanish name Villa de Madrid Founded 9th century Postal code 28001-28080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 91 (Villa de Madrid) Website http://www. ... The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palace or palazzo in Florence, holding one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. ... Country Italy Region Marche Province Ancona (AN) Mayor Elevation 3 m Area 115 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 43,899  - Density 359/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Senigalliesi Dialing code 071 Postal code 60019 Frazioni see list Patron St. ... The Villa Borghese Pinciana (begun 1605) houses the Galleria Borghese. ... The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palace or palazzo in Florence, holding one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. ... Florences skyline Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich: St. ... View of a building at the Getty Center, from the Central Garden. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... The East Building of the National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum managed by the government of the United States but privately owned, although it functions as a public institution. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... View of Urbino with the Ducal Palace and the Cathedral. ... The National Gallery from Trafalgar Square The National Gallery is an art gallery in London, located on the north side of Trafalgar Square. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Federico Barocci

• Lisot, Elizabeth A. (2006). Passion, Penance and Mystical Union: Early Modern Catholic Polemics in the Religious Paintings of Federico Barocci, excerpt from University of Texas, Dallas, Ph.D. Dissertation. 1
• Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Freedberg, Sydney J. (1993). Pelican History of Art: Painting in Italy, 1500-1600, 632-641.