Giulio
Romano(b Rome, ?1499; d
Mantua, 1 Nov 1546).
Italian painter and architect. He was trained by Raphael, who became his
friend and protector, and he developed into an artist of consequence in
the third decade of the 16th century. His authority derived from his
artistic lineage, attunement to the needs of courtly patrons and a style
that blended modern sensibilities with the forms of Classical art. His
greatest achievements were the monumental fresco programmes and
architectural projects that he conceived and oversaw. Giulio’s
contemporaries particularly praised the facility and inventiveness of
his drawing, a view upheld by 20th-century writers. Most of his career
was spent in Mantua, as court artist for Federico II Gonzaga, 5th
Marchese and 1st Duke of Mantua (reg 1530–40). The Palazzo del
Te, designed for Federico, is a tour de force of Mannerist
architecture and decoration. Giulio’s Mantuan workshop was modelled on
the organizational structure of Raphael’s; it did not, however, generate
the sort of independent and highly skilled artist that Giulio himself
exemplified.