Pietro Perugino, Italian Renaissance Painter

Vasari report that Perugino was commissioned in 1481 to join the team of Botticelli to paint frescoes on the walls of the brand new Sistine Chapel in Rome. Some scholars believe Perugino led the team whose members were Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Rosselli. He also frescoed the altarpiece in the chapel, but this work was demolished so that Michelangelo's Last Judgment could take its place. In his prime, Perugino influenced the young Raphael Sanzio who worked with him early in his career. The Pre-Raphaelites of the 19th century greatly admired Perugino's work.

Brenda Harness, Art Historian