Sebastiano del Piombo
Art, Friendship and Sacred Innovation
Piers Baker-BatesA fresh reassessment of a neglected master of the Italian Renaissance
Sebastiano del Piombo was one of the most accomplished and innovative artists of the Italian Renaissance, yet his achievements have long been overshadowed by his friendship and collaboration with Michelangelo. This accessible and up-to-date account of Sebastiano del Piombo’s life and work offers a fresh reassessment of an artist whose paintings rank among the masterpieces of sixteenth-century art. From Venice to Rome and beyond to Spain, the book traces his career, examining celebrated works such as The Raising of Lazarus while revealing the distinctive vision that set him apart from his contemporaries. It considers his pioneering experiments with painting on stone and the religious ideas that shaped his art. Sebastiano del Piombo emerges as a central figure of the Renaissance, deserving renewed attention in his own right.
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Sebastiano del Piombo remains underappreciated. Piers Baker-Bates provides a long-needed corrective, combining pithy, discerning analysis of the artist’s work with a vertiginous assessment of his wide-ranging influence. The result is a forensic and passionate case for Sebastiano as one of the great artists of the Italian renaissance.
'Matthias Wivel, Head of Research at the Glyptotek, Copenhagen
Introduction
1 Venice: Forging a Career
2 Rome: The Beginnings
3 Rome: The Apogee
4 Rome: The Last Years
Conclusion: The Inheritance of Sebastiano
CHRONOLOGY
REFERENCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INDEX
Piers Baker-Bates is Visiting Research Associate at the Open University. His books include Sebastiano del Piombo and the World of Spanish Rome (2016) and Artistic Exchanges between Spain and Italy, 1516–1621 (2024).