Federico Barocci

Variant namesauktoriserad namnform: Federico Barocci

DatesBiographical dates: 1535 - 1612 Dead: dead 1612 Born: born 1535 (?)

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BiographyBiography: Federico Barocci was born into a family of artists. He was first apprenticed to his father Ambrogio Barocci, a skilled watchmaker, and to Battista Franco. In 1549 Barocci was sent to Pesaro to his uncle, the architect Bartolomeo Genga. Here he was taught geometry, perspective and architecture, and also had the opportunity to study the Della Rovere collection, with works by Titian and other Venetian masters. In the 1550s Barocci went to Rome for further studies, entering the circle of Cardinal Giulio Feltrio Della Rovere (1535–1578), from whom he received several commissions. In 1557 he returned to Urbino, and dating from this period is his Martyrdom of St Sebastian in the city’s cathedral. In 1560 Barocci once again returned to Rome for an important papal assignment: the decoration of the Casino Pio IV in the Vatican Gardens (1561–63). Soon after, in 1563, illness forced him to return to his native city. He spent the rest of his days, with only brief absences, in Urbino and, despite frail health, remained productive and continued to receive important commissions throughout his life. His Madonna del Popolo (Uffizi, Florence) is from 1579, and his Entombment in the Chiesa della Croce in Senigallia from 1582. Barocci worked slowly. He was a skilful draughtsman and his complex painting process required innumerable preparatory drawings and lighting, gestural and compositional sketches. Barocci was inspired by a wide range of Renaissance artists, including Raphael, Correggio, Leonardo da Vinci and Titian. He created a unique style that combined extraordinary colour with dynamic figures in elaborate compositions, and his work foreshadowed the Baroque.

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