Parmigianino [key], 1503–40, Italian painter and etcher, one of the most sensitive mannerist artists (see mannerism) and one of the period's finest draftsmen. His real name was Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola. The name Parmigianino is derived from his birthplace, Parma. His early paintings show the pervasive influence of Correggio. These include The Marriage of St. Catherine (Parma Gall.) and the frescoes in San Giovanni Evangelista, where both artists painted. Parmigianino was in Rome for a few years, but had to flee during the sack of the city in 1527. He went to Bologna, where he painted the altarpiece Madonna and Child with St. Margaret and Other Saints. One of his most curious works is a painting of himself seen in the distorted reflection of a convex mirror (Vienna). In 1531 he returned to Parma and spent the last years of his life painting frescoes in Santa Maria della Steccata. His art is noted for its remarkable grace and sensuality and for its elongated figures. Among his important works are the Vision of St. Jerome (National Gall., London); Madonna dal Collo Lungo (Uffizi, Florence); and the Legend of Diane and Acteon (Rocca di Fontanellato, near Parma). Parmigianino was one of the first artists to use the technique of etching, and through this medium his style became influential in Italy and N Europe.
See A. E. Popham, Catalogue of the Drawings of Parmigianino (3 vol., 1971); study by S. Freedberg (1950, repr. 1971); D. Franklin and D. Ekserdjian, The Art of Parmigianino (2004).
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