Antea

Born in Parma in 1503, Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (known as Parmigianino) was taught painting techniques by his father and uncles. He completed an altarpiece for a local church at the age of sixteen.

In 1520, Parmigianino may have assisted the respected artist Correggio with his frescoes at a church in Parma, where Parmigianino may also have completed his own frescoes. Four years later, Parmigianino visited Rome to present a self-portrait to Pope Clement VII. While in Rome he saw works by Raphael and Michelangelo. Afterwards, his style became more grand and elegant. In 1527, Parmigianino escaped the Sack of Rome and went to Bologna, but returned to Parma after three years. He received a commission to paint frescoes in another church. At this time, according to some accounts, Parmigianino became a devotee of alchemy, becoming self-indulgent and completing little work at the church. Consequently, he was imprisoned but later escaped. He died at 37 years of age. Parmigianino is believed to be the first Italian artist to make etchings, and his work significantly influenced the art of printmaking.

A Selection of Parmigianino's Works:

Vision of St. Jerome

Madonna dal Collo Lungo (The Madonna with the Long Neck)

The Marriage of St. Catherine
Frescoes in San Giovanni Evangelista,
Madonna and Child with St. Margaret and Other Saints
Portrait of the artist seen in the distorted reflection of a convex mirror.
Frescoes in Santa Maria della Steccata
Legend of Diane and Acteon
Antea (detail - top photo)

The Frick Collection
1 East 70th St., at Fifth Ave.
Upper East Side
New York, NY 10021
USA
tel: 212-288-0700
Formerly Henry Clay Frick Residence ((1849-1919 - Pittsburgh coke and steel industrialist)
Architects: Carrère & Hastings 1914
Architect: John Russell Pope converted the mansion into a museum in 1935.
Landscape architect: Russell Page
Among the 169 paintings on view are Fragonard’s series The Progress of Love, Jan van Eyck’s Virgin and Child, Holbein’s portrait of Thomas More and Cromwell, Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert, as well as wonderful works by Brueghel, Corot, Gainsborough, El Greco, Manet, Titian and Whistler.
Closed: Monday