Pirro Ligorio

Pirro Ligorio
Pirro Ligorio
Born	c. 1512–1513 Naples in present-day Italy
Died	30 October 1583 (aged about 70) Ferrara, in present-day Italy
Nationality	Italian
Known for	Architecture, painting, garden design, antiques
Notable work	Villa d'Este, Casina Pio IV
Movement	High Renaissance

Pirro Ligorio (c. 1512/1513 - 30 October 1583) was an Italian architect, painter, antiquarian, and garden designer during the Renaissance period. He worked as the Vatican’s Papal Architect under Popes Paul IV and Pius IV, designed the fountains at Villa d’Este at Tivoli for Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, and served as the Ducal Antiquary in Ferrara. Ligorio emphasized and showed a deep passion for classical Roman antiquity.

Due to lack of accurate documentation, very little is known about the first three decades of Ligorio’s life. It is estimated that he was born in Naples, Italy, in 1512 or 1513 while the city was still under Spanish rule. His parents, Achille and Gismunda Ligorio, were rumored to be members of the noble class in Seggio di Portanova, a section of Naples. Around age twenty, Pirro Ligorio left the tumultuous and poverty-stricken city of Naples to pursue a more flourshing livelihood in Rome. The city was home to a thriving art community, especially under the patronage of the Vatican.

For his first job in Rome, Ligorio painted and decorated the façades of homes and palaces. This role had previously been filled by Polidoro da Caravaggio, who fled in 1527, allowing Ligorio to enter the field with very little formal artistic training. His first documented contract was signed on 12 May 1542 when Ligorio decorated the loggia on the palace of the archbishop of Benevento. He was chosen specifically for his knowledge of the grotesque style, which was popularized by Raphael and his followers in the sixteenth century. Ligorio greatly appreciated this style, and incorporated its elements (friezes, scenes from Roman history, trophies, etc.) into his work often.

Many of the paintings from his early career, unfortunately, were destroyed or repainted less than a century later. However, several surviving drawings from that time period have been recovered and attributed to Ligorio. This identification was often made based on the subject matter; many of the drawings featured façade paintings, Roman characters, and antique Renaissance objects. These loose connections allowed historians to name Ligorio as the rightful artist of these drawings, which are now held in collections across the world (including one at the Art Institute of Chicago).

In the mid sixteenth century, Ligorio was commissioned to assist in the decoration of the Oratorio di San Giovanni Decollato at Rome. In particular, he painted a fresco of The Dance of Salome. Exact dates are unclear, but it is estimated he painted the fresco between 1544-1553. Early drawing drafts and the fresco itself shows Ligorio’s commitment to the Raphaelesque and Manneristic styles. Notably, this is one of the few surviving large works of his early career.

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