Federico Barocci

Federico Barocci - Training with Semolei; study trip to Rome

Federico Barocci was born in Urbino between 1526 and 1535. The great-grandson of the famous Milanese sculptor Ambrogio da Milano, he received his basic training in his father's workshop, who also worked as a sculptor and seal cutter, whilst Battista Franco, known as Semolei, introduced the young man to painting. His uncle, the architect Bartolomeo Genga, played a significant role in Federico Barocci's artistic career, not only encouraging his nephew but also familiarising him with questions of space and perspective. Barocci worked for a time in his uncle's studio in Pesaro before travelling to Rome at the behest of Cardinal Giulio della Rovere, where he studied the works of Antonio da Corregio and Raphael, collaborated with leading artists of his time, and was involved in a prestigious fresco project for Pope Pius IV in the Vatican. Here, however, he had to contend with jealous rivals who allegedly went so far as to poison Barocci, forcing him to temporarily give up his artistic activities in Rome.

Difficult as a person, a celebrated genius as an artist

Federico Barocci returned to Urbino where he enjoyed great artistic success. However, he struggled with chronic health problems, possibly as a result of the poison attack, so that his illustrious clients, which included names such as Pope Clement VIII, King Philip II of Spain and Emperor Rudolf II, often had to wait years for their commissions to be fulfilled - the fact that they did so speaks volumes for the high reputation the artist enjoyed at his peak. Several of his aristocratic patrons tried to lure Barocci to their court, but were repeatedly turned down by the artist, who was regarded as grumpy and unapproachable. Although a wide range of influences from the most important masters of the Renaissance can be seen in Barocci's work, he succeeded in creating his own pictorial language with a gripping dynamism, which was immediately adapted and imitated by his enthusiastic contemporaries.

Influential teacher and artistic guide

Federico Barocci traversed three creative periods in his artistic life: His early works were followed by a middle phase in which he worked with the painter brothers Taddeo Zuccari and Francesco Zuccari in Rome and proved to be a talented fresco painter. Although Barocci no longer painted frescoes after his illness and enforced break, he reached his peak with various large and small-format compositions: Most critics agree that his masterpiece Deposition from the Cross - created for the Collegio della Mercanzia – was an early piece, and clearly anticipated upcoming Baroque masters such as Rubens or Anthonis van Dyck. Although Federico Barocci spent most of his life in Urbino, he had a major influence on the development of Italian painting, not least due to the fact that he faithfully implemented the strict guidelines of the Council of Trent in his sacred art. Federico Barocci's pupils included Antonio Cimatori, Vinzenco Pellegrini, Antonio Viani and many other illustrious names.

Federico Barocci died on 30th September 1612 in his hometown of Urbino.