Sebastiano del Piombo [key], c.1485–1547, Italian painter of the Venetian school, whose real name was Sebastiano Luciani. Although he was trained by Giovanni Bellini, his early work was influenced by Giorgione. His first important work is the frescoed altarpiece representing St. Chrysostom in the Church of San Giovanni Crisostomo, Venice. Called to Rome (c.1510), he painted a series of lunettes in the Farnesina. He allied himself with Michelangelo, under whose influence he painted the Raising of Lazarus (National Gall., London); Pietà (Museo Civico, Viterbo); Martyrdom of St. Agatha (Pitti Palace, Florence); Flagellation and Transfiguration, the latter a fresco (Church of San Pietro in Montorio, Rome). In 1531 he was appointed to the lucrative office of the piombo (keeper of the papal seals) and painted little thereafter. Piombo's portraits are famous for their characterization and coloring. Noted examples include Doge Andrea Doria (Doria Palace, Rome), Cardinal Pole (Hermitage, St. Petersburg), Christopher Columbus (Metropolitan Mus.), and portraits of cardinals (Vienna; Sarasota, Fla.).
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