Girolamo da Carpi

Girolamo da Carpi was a painter and architect from Ferrara who worked in a graceful style shaped by Raphael, Correggio and Giulio Romano. His pictures have elegant figures, soft colour and a polished finish, whether the subject is religious or mythological.

He was born in 1501 and began painting in Ferrara before moving to Bologna, where he painted an Adoration of the Magi for San Martino and a Marriage of Saint Catherine. Visits to Rome brought him into contact with Mannerism. Back in Ferrara he worked with Dosso Dossi and Garofalo for the d’Este court. In 1550 he became architect to Pope Julius III, working on the Vatican Belvedere, and later he oversaw enlargements of the Castello Estense in Ferrara. His Opportunity and Remorse is in Dresden. He died in 1556.

The Holy Family shows his soft, rounded figures, close in spirit to Correggio.