PARMIGIANINO, FRANCESCO MAZZOLA, called il — Painter and engraver, born in Parma, to Filippo, a Bellini-inspired painter, on 11 January 1503, died at Casalmaggiore on 24 August 1540.
A characteristic testimony to his beginnings remains in the parish church of Bardi (Parma): a Sposalizio di s. Caterina (around 1522), somewhat swollen and awkward, but of graceful expression. From 1522 to 1524, following in Correggio’s footsteps, he executed important frescoes in the chapels on the right of the church of S. Giovanni Evangelista, in Parma; he then went to Rome, Bologna (portrait of the Emperor Charles V), and once more to Parma (where he decorated the vault and basin of the main chapel in S. Maria della Steccata), and shortly thereafter
to Fontanellato, in the fortress of the Sanvitale counts, where his marvelous frescoes with episodes from the myth of Diana are preserved; and finally, after much wandering, to Casalmaggiore, where he prematurely brought his luminous career and his life to a close. In addition to the fresco decorations, the numerous altarpieces and portraits that adorn the principal Italian and foreign galleries, P. left a series of drawings, of the most delicate touch, and about fifteen etchings, with light, crosshatched lines. Without in any way plagiarizing Correggio, he knew how to continue his joyful grace in works such as the frescoes at Fontanellato and the exquisite Presepe in the Cook Gallery at Richmond, as well as in certain unforgettable details, such as the embrace of S. Giovannino with the female child Jesus in the Mannerist Madonna con s. Zaccaria at the Uffizi. But what characterizes his rationalizing and at the same time voluptuous nature is the refined aestheticism expressed through the predominance of linear and volumetric allure (slender columns, amphorae with soft curves, environmental or costume accessories). It will suffice to mention, besides the very famous Madonna con il Bambino e angeli in the Pitti Gallery, known as «dal collo lungo», the other precious Madonna in the Pinacoteca of Bologna, with the blond s. Margherita in a golden-yellow mantle, and the graceful, statuesque Cupido che tende l'arco in the Gallery of Vienna. This does not mean that P. did not at times manifest, in religious subjects, if not a genuine mystical spirituality, then at least a sincere poetic feeling. This is demonstrated, for example, by the small Natività in the Doria Gallery in Rome, and by the intimate scene of the Sposalizio di s. Caterina in the Gallery of Parma. But P.’s chief achievement remains his supremely vibrant portraits, in which he succeeded in resolving the problems of style in a unified manner, while adapting himself each time to the character of the sitter: authentic creations and celebrations of states of mind, which do not fear comparison with those produced by the most celebrated masters of every school.