
"Il Pintoricchio"
Bernardino di Betto, known also as Pintoricchio, was
born between 1456 and 1460 in Perugia to a modest
family of artisans. The early life of the painter
seems to have been very unhappy and was further complicated
in 1475 when his father, a simple cloth tanner, died
of the plague.
Some years before, however, Giapeco Caporali, the
extraordinary miniaturist, opened a bottega on the
same street as the young Bernardinos family
home and it is assumed that the young boy had his
first experiences with brushes and colours in the
Caporali bottega. These were years of a great artistic
fervour in Perugia; the city was becoming an eminent
centre for artistic activities in central Italy. In
the early years, Pintoricchio participated in this
artistic revival, sometimes as a spectator, other
times as a protagonist; he is recognised to have worked
on the majestic tables that recount the stories of
San Bernardino in 1473, while also working alongside
Perugino on the scaffolding of the Sistina.
It was not, however, until 1481 that his first authored
works are documented, following his enrolment in the
guild of Artists and Painters in Porta SantAngelo,
Perugia. Working in Rome allowed him to meet new and
influential figures: between 1482 and 1485 he painted
the cappella Bufalini allAracoeli, he intermittently
returned to his home town to complete some of his
works and to carry out small commissions, some of
which were obtained thanks to his nephew, Girolamo
di Simone - the extremely young Canon of the Cathedral
of San Lorenzo of Perugia. This fact may also explain
the excellent relationship that Pintoricchio had with
Innocenzo VIII, for whom, between 1487 and 1488, he
worked on the site of his apartments in the Vatican:
unfortunately only part of these are still in existence
as the rest was destroyed in order to make space for
the Pio Clementino Museum.
In 1490 Bernardino was at work in the Sala dei Mesi
in the Palace of Cardinal Domenico Delle Rovere and
in the Chapel Santa Maria del Popolo.
Two years later he came to Orvieto for a commission
in the Duomo that was completed only in 1496. In the
meantime Alessandro VI Borgia had become Pope and
commissioned the Umbrian artist to decorate his apartments
in the Vatican, a grandiose project that kept Pintoricchio
busy in Rome until 1495.
By the 2nd January of the same year, the altarpiece
of Santa Maria dei Fossi, perhaps one of his most
significant works, was still awaiting completion.
The works in Spoleto, Perugia and Orvieto brought
money and in 1501 also recognition from the political
powers that appointed him to hold the position of
prior of the Arts in Perugia.
The events in the life of Pintoricchio are closely
linked to the political landscape of Perugia, he was
a familiar and loyal servant to Cesare Borgia and
he was also connected to the Baglioni family, from
whom he received the commission to decorate the walls
of the Capella Bella in the Church of Santa Maria
Maggiore in Spello, where - between the autumn of
1500 and the spring of 1501 - he created paintings
of such magnificent beauty and skill that his fame
and eminence in artistic circles in Umbria was ensured
for many years to come.
Many consider his crowning achievement to be the stunning
cycle of frescoes that illustrated the life of Enea
Silvio Piccolomini, Pope Pio II, located in the Piccolomini
library in Siena. Ambroggio Barocci designed the grandiose
architectural structure and the draughts for the illustrated
scenes were prepared by a young Raffaello; these details
only serve to underline the greatness achieved by
the Perugian painter.
In 1506 the frescoes were completed and Pintoricchio
received the commission to paint the pala di SantAndrea
in Spello, which he eventually left to Eusebio da
San Giorgio to complete.
Between 1509 and 1510 he painted his last Roman work,
the vaulted ceilings on the Capella Delle Rovere in
Santa Maria del Popolo.
In 1513 he retired, due to ill health, to the Sienan
countryside, where he died on the 11th December. He
was rich but alone, following abandonment by his wife.
It was a sad and lonely end for an artist that was
initially considered, deaf, small and unprepossessing,
yet nonetheless, had managed to attain greatness.
Information and Bookings
199 199 111 servizi@civita.it Civita Servizi
199.151.123 infoline@sistemamuseo.it Sistema Museo
Perugia Galleria Nazionale dellUmbria at Palazzo
dei Priori
Corso Vannucci, 19
Daily Opening hours
2nd February -30th March 2008 from 9.30 to 19.00
31st March 29th June 2008 from 9.30 to 20.00
(The ticket office will close one hour prior to closing
time)
Tickets (including bag deposit)
Exhibition at Palazzo dei Priori, Perugia
- Adult € 10,00
- Reductions € 8,00 for under 18s and over 65s
, groups (minimum 15 people), University student cardholders,
Perugia City Museum Card Holders
- School reductions € 4,00
- Free children under 6 years old, two accompanying
teachers, wheelchair users, press-card holders
Combined € 12,00 (Exhibition + Galleria Nazionale
dell Umbria )
- Cumulative € 12,00 (exhibition in Perugina
+ Cappella Baglioni and the Pinacoteca Civica in Spello
)
- Pintoricchio Card € 17,00 (Exhibition in Perugia+Cappella
Baglioni and the Pinacoteca Civica in Spello + Galleria
Nazionale dellUmbria and other sites and privileges
of the Perugia City Museum ).
Information
- Booking