Pietro Perugino | Pietro Perugino | Portrait of Francesco delle Opere | Podere Santa Pia, Holiday house in the south of Tuscany

Pietro Perugino | Portrait of Francesco delle Opere

The Portrait of Francesco delle Opere is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino, dating to 1494 and housed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
The first mention of the painting is in the inventory of Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici's artworks, as a work of "Second Manner Raphael". In the 19th century it was attributed to Perugino and Jacopo Francia, and then again to Perugino by Antonio Ramirez de Montalvo, who discovered an inscription in the rear. This reads: "1494 DI LVGLIO PIETRO PERVGINO PINSE FRANC[ESC]O DEL LOPRE PEYNAGA".

It was long considered a self-portrait, and from 1883 it was therefore exhibited in the gallery of self-portraits in the Vasarian Corridor. In 1881 the subject was finally identified as Francesco delle Opere (died 1516), a gem carver and a friend of Perugino.[1]

Francesco delle Opere is portrayed from three-quarters, with a black beret and a mantle of the same color, a red blouse under which is a white shirt. His hand holds a cartouche with the words Timete Devm ("Beware of God"), the beginning of a famous preaching by Girolamo Savonarola. The hands lie on an invisible parapet which coincides with the painting's lower border, as in Flemish contemporary works such as Hans Memling's Man with a Letter. Aside from the attention to details (typical of contemporary Flemish art), the painting share with Memling's also the presence of a city with pointed towers on the left. The presence of small trees and a lake in the background landscape are typical of the Umbrian school of the period.
[1] Giovanni delle Corniole (Giovanni delle Opere) was an Italian lapidary. A lapidary (the word means "concerned with stones") is an artisan who forms stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials (amber, shell, jet, pearl, copal, coral, horn and bone, glass and other synthetics) into decorative items (e.g. cameos, cabochons, and faceted designs). Corniole was perhaps the most significant Renaissance cutter of precious gemstones during the late 15th century. He studied his craft in Florence, by emulating the detailed gemstone engravings of the Medici family's 'Grand Ducal' art collections. He was called Giovanni delle Corniole for his famed ability in cutting cornelian stone. His activity is documented in Florence in 1498 when he was trained at the court of Lorenzo the Magnificent. When Lorenzo died, Giovanni was barely twenty years old, but he was already capable of engraving the small cornelian with the beautiful, sharply distinct Portrait of Lorenzo. His unquestioned skill in the difficult practice of engraving cornelian is demonstrated in the famous oval portrait of Girolamo Savonarola. [2] Sources: Garibaldi, Vittoria (2004). "Perugino". Pittori del Rinascimento. Florence: Scala.
Page at Florence's museums website \| www.polomuseale.firenze.it Notizie storico critiche \| Il dipinto apparteneva alla collezione del card. Leopoldo e figura nell'inventario della sua eredita' come opera di "Raffaello seconda maniera", venne attribuito nell'Ottocento al Perugino ed a Jacopo Francia, ed infine di nuovo al Perugino, quando Antonio Ramirez de Montalvo scopri' la scritta a tergo e ne decifro' solo la prima parte. Venne a lungo considerato come autoritratto del Perugino. Arte in Toscana \| Giorgio Vasari, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori (1550) \| Pietro Perugino Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Giorgio Vasari \| download pdf Pietro Perugino and the Trasimeno lake scenary \| Renaissance and Mannerism Painting in Città della Pieve, Paciano, Panicale and Castiglione del Lago



The valley between Asciano and Montalcino, the surroundings of Poder Santa Pia
Found in the beautiful Maremma, close to San Quirico d'Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano and the medieval hilltop village of Castiglioncello Bandini. Podere Santa Pia is a perfect Tuscan getaway.Enjoy the best of Southern Tuscany, its superb art and architecture, discover the open rolling countryside with extensive views and the picturesque 'crete senesi'. For garden-lovers and those who just enjoy the iconic views of the Tuscan countryside, Villa La Foce is nearby. The villa, one of the great private gardens of Italy, lies on a hill overlooking this beautiful and unspoiled part of Tuscany, the Val d'Orcia. Holiday houses in Tuscany \| Podere Santa Pia


Podere Santa Pia	Pienza	Podere Santa Pia


Crete Senesi, surroundings of Podere Santa Pia	The abbey of Sant'Antimo	Villa La Foce


Wines in southern Tuscany	Pienza, Piazza Pio II	Cipress road near Montichiello



Podere Santa Pia, a jewel in the heart of the Valle d'Ombrone with breathtaking views to the Tyrrhenian coast, Monte Christo and Corsica
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