\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \qj \f1 \fs24 \b Sebastiano del Piombo, called Sebastiano Luciani (1485-1547)\par
\b0 A Venetian to Rome, del Piombo was apprec
iated as a soloist on the lute in his youth, and only later did he turn to painting, first under Giovanni Bellini, then Giorgione. His early works, painted in Venice, show him still very much tied to Giorgione. In 1511, he was invited to stay in Rome by
the Sienese banker and merchant Agostino Chigi for whom he painted works in the Farnesina with images drawn from the Metamorphoses of Ovid. He also worked in the Funeral Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo, where the style of his paintings, though still unm
istakably Venetian, show evident signs of contact with the Roman artistic world. There is a reflection of Raphael in one crowded group of portraits, but the most lively and telling relationship was with Michelangelo, who even provided del Piombo with som
e preparatory studies for certain works. The violently dislocated and cluttered images are indicative of a strong inclination towards the plastic arts. His friendship with Michelangelo led del Piombo to undertake commissions for Florentine patrons such a
s the decoration of the Borgherini Chapel in San Pietro in Montorio. From 1513, he obtained the Papal Seal, or \i piombatura\i0 , from which he received his nickname. The masterpieces of his Roman period, which are notable for their austere and suffering
religiousness, include the "\i PietĪ±"\i0 in the Museo Civico of Viterbo, "The \i Christ Carrying the Cross"\i0 and, finally, the \i Altar piece \i0 of the Chigi Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo. \par
