1484 -1551 · Sienese Renaissance and Italian Mannerism

Unreal lights, nervous bodies, acidic colors and unstable architecture make Domenico Beccafumi the most singular voice of Sienese mannerism.

Born in 1484 near Montaperti, Domenico di Giacomo di Pace adopted the name of his protector Lorenzo Beccafumi and built most of his career in Siena. After initial local training, a probable stay in Rome allowed him to study Raphael, Michelangelo and Antiquity. However, he transformed these models in a very personal way: stretched figures, daring shortcuts, deep shadows and almost supernatural lighting. His frescoes at the Palazzo Pubblico devoted to civic virtues combine ancient history and political reflection. For several decades, Beccafumi also designed scenes for the marble pavement of Siena Cathedral, notably episodes of the life of Moses. Painter, designer, engraver and sculptor, he experiments with chiaroscuro even in his wood engraved on the alchemy professions. His religious altarpieces combine fervor, movement and luminous strangeness. Died in Siena in 1551, he left a scattered corpus whose overall extent can only be estimated. The selection "Domenico Beccafumi" notably compares The Preaching of Saint Bernardin of Siena and Saint Anthony and the miracle of the mule. His reading favors color.

In Beccafumi, light does not only describe forms: it worries them, lifts them up and transforms the sacred story into vision.