17 Facts About Giulio Romano

Giulio Romano was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-century style known as Mannerism.

Giulio Romano Pippi was born in Rome and he began his career there as a young assistant to the leading painter and architect Raphael.

Giulio Romano became an important member of Raphael's large team working on the frescos in the Raphael Rooms and Vatican loggias using designs by Raphael and, later painting a group of figures in the Fire in the Borgo fresco.

Giulio Romano collaborated on the decoration of the ceiling of the Villa Farnesina.

In Rome, Giulio Romano decorated the Villa Madama for Cardinal Giuliano de' Medici, afterward Clement VII.

On Raphael's death, Michelangelo attempted to take over completion of the commission for the Raphael Rooms at the Vatican, but along with Perino del Vaga, Giulio Romano was able to keep it, as they had the drawings for much of the uncompleted work that was being executed under the supervision of Raphael.

The contemporaneous historian of the Renaissance, Giorgio Vasari, tells how Baldassare Castiglione was delegated by Gonzaga to procure Giulio Romano to execute paintings as well as architectural and engineering projects for the duchy of Mantua.

In late 1524, Giulio Romano agreed to move to Mantua, where he remained for the rest of his life.

In Mantua, rather than his given name, "Giulio Romano" was used to identify him by his geographical origin because he was not a native artist.

Giulio Romano's move to Mantua meant he escaped the disaster of the Sack of Rome in 1527, which hugely disrupted artistic patronage in Rome and dispersed the remainder of Raphael's workshop.

Giulio Romano helped rebuild the ducal palace in Mantua, reconstructed the cathedral, and designed the nearby Church of San Benedetto.

Giulio Romano sculpted the figure of Christ that is positioned above Castiglione's tomb in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Curtatone, near Mantua.

Giulio Romano has the distinction of being the only Renaissance artist to be mentioned by William Shakespeare.

Giulio Romano learned architecture the same way he learned painting, as an increasingly trusted assistant to Raphael, who was appointed the papal architect in 1514 and his early works are very much in Raphael's style.

Giulio Romano made the whole building suggest lightness and elegance to exploit the ridge-top position and to overcome the rather small Roman footprint.

Giulio Romano's last building in Rome, the Palazzo Maccarani Stati, was a considerable contrast, being a palazzo in the city centre, with shops on the ground floor, and a massive, imposing feel.

Giulio Romano's first building in Mantua has remained his most famous work in architecture.