Peruzzi, Baldassare 1481–1536 Italian Painter and Architect
Peruzzi, Baldassare
1481–1536
Italian painter and architect
One of the leading architects of the 1500s, Baldassare Peruzzi is also known for his magnificent drawings. Among his earliest architectural projects was the Farnese Palace in Rome, built between 1505 and 1511. He also worked as a painter around this time and as a designer.
Peruzzi's breakthrough as an architect came in 1520, with his appointment as second architect of St. Peter's Church in Rome. Two years later, he went to Bologna to create designs for the stonemasons' lodge. Back in Rome around 1523, Peruzzi designed burial places for important individuals. During this period his own distinctive architectural style became evident.
Peruzzi's career as an architect reached its peak in Siena after 1527. There he created innovative designs for rebuilding the city's cathedral and also worked on the Palazzo Pollini with its monumental facade and the fortress Rocca Sinibalda. Returning to Rome in about 1534, Peruzzi produced magnificent designs for St. Peter's and worked on various other projects, including an apartment in the Vatican. A highly inventive artist, Peruzzi used both the art of antiquity* and that of the leading artists of his time. His work had considerable influence on the architects of the late 1500s, including Michelangelo and Andrea Palladio.
(See alsoArchitecture. )
- * antiquity
era of the ancient Mediterranean cultures of Greece and Rome, ending around a.d. 400