Domenico Beccafumi

Italian, 1484–1551

BiographyBorn Mecherino Giacomo di Pace in 1484, Domenico Beccafumi was a Sienese painter, printmaker and sculptor. He took his namesake from Lorenzo Beccafumi, a wealthy Sienese citizen who arranged an apprenticeship for Mecherino with a minor Sienese painter and encouraged him as protégé.

After completing his apprenticeship and becoming inspired by the works of Perogino (which he had seen in Siena), Beccafumi traveled to Rome to study the works of Michelangelo and Raphael. Motivated by the success of fellow Sienese painter Sodoma, he returned to Siena in 1507. Beccafumi's earliest documented works include a triptych altarpiece dedicated to the Madonna Del Manto, located in the Ospedale di Santa Marie Della Scala. This work includes depictions of John the Baptist, John the Evangelist with Damian and The Meeting at the Golden Gate. Beccafumi's artistic style is characterized by rich color and an attention to light and shadow that reflects the influence of Michelangelo, Leonardo and Fra Angelico. Beccafumi's most famous works are his frescoes which depict religious narratives, particularly the frescoes he completed for the cathedrals of Pisa and Siena. During his lifetime, Beccafumi also completed lesser-known sculptures, engravings and manuscript illustrations.

Beccafumi died in Siena in 1551.