Painting

On the wall below the design of Jacob's Dream, in the ceiling of this same Heliodorus Room, is the Liberation of Peter, painted above and on each side of a window. The story is taken from the Acts of the Apostles, Herod the king, as the narrative says, "stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also." The story of the imprisonment and liberation of Peter now follows:—

There are a great many pictures by the old masters representing what is known as the Holy Family. This is a group consisting of the mother and child, with one or more additional figures. The third figure is sometimes the infant John the Baptist, or it may be Joseph the husband of Mary; a fourth figure is likely to be St. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and sometimes all five of these are shown in a group.

Rulers:—

Lorenzo de' Medici (reigned 1469-1492) and Pietro de' Medici (1492-1494), dukes of Florence.

Giovanni Galeazzo Sforza (reigned 1476-1494), Lodovico Maria Sforza (1494-1500), and Massimiliano Sforza (1512-1515), dukes of Milan.

Francesco Maria della Rovere, duke of Urbino (born 1490; died 1535).

Ferdinand I. (reigned 1458-1494), Ferdinand II. (reigned 1495-1496), and Ferdinand III., kings of Naples, the last being he who was also king of Spain as Ferdinand V.

This is the legend of St. Catherine.

She was the daughter of King Costis and his wife Sabinella, who was herself the daughter of the king of Egypt. When she came into the world, a glory of light was seen to play around her head, and when she was yet a little child, she gave such signs of wisdom that she was a wonder to all about the court of Egypt. When she was no more than fourteen years old, she was a marvel of learning. She could have answered all the hard questions the Queen of Sheba asked Solomon, and she knew her Plato by heart.

Vasco da Gama (died 1525), discoverer.

In the time of Correggio the convent of S. Paolo (St. Paul) in Parma was in charge of the abbess Giovanna da Piacenza, who had succeeded an aunt in this office in 1507. She was a woman of liberal opinions, who did not let the duties of her position entirely absorb her. She still retained some social connections and was a patroness of art and culture. The daughter of a nobleman, she was a person of consequence, whose private apartments were such as a princess might have. Already a well known painter of the day had decorated one of her rooms when she heard of the rising artist Correggio.

Compiled from Ricci's Correggio, to which the references to pages apply.

1494. Antonio Allegri born at Correggio.

1511-1513. Probably in Mantua (p. 69).

1515. Madonna of St. Francis (p. 94).

1518. In Parma executing the frescoes of San Paolo, April-December (p. 152).

1520. Invitation to Parma from the Benedictines (p. 153). Marriage with Girolama Merlini (p. 185).

by Estelle M. Hurll

• Vincenzo Catena, Venetian, 1470-1532.
• Michelangelo, Florentine, 1475-1564.
• Lorenzo Lotto, Venetian, circa 1476-1555.
• Bazzi (Il Sodoma), Sienese, 1477-1549.
• Giorgione, Venetian, 1477-1510.
• Titian, Venetian, 1477-1576.
• Palma Vecchio, Venetian, 1480-1528.
• Lotto, Venetian, 1480-1558.
• Raphael, Umbrian, 1483-1520.
• Pordenone, Venetian, 1484-1539.
• Bagnacavallo, Bolognese, 1484-1542.
• Gaudenzio Ferrari, Milanese, 1484-1549.
• Sebastian del Piombo, Venetian, 1485-1547.