(b Sansepolcro, 6 Oct 1536; d Florence, 2 July 1602). Italian painter, draughtsman and architect. His art is of fundamental importance to the history of Florentine painting in the transitional period between Mannerism and Baroque. He rejected the virtuosity of Mannerist painters and returned to an earlier Renaissance tradition that emphasized clear narrative and the expression of a purer, more genuine religious sentiment. His most important works are altarpieces and frescoes; his private commissions included devotional paintings, mythological scenes and portraits. Although he was less important as an architect, here too he upheld an ideal of purity and simplicity that parallels the style of his paintings.

• Tito, Santi di
  • Italy, §III, 5(iv): Baroque and Rococo painting, c 1600–c 1750: Florence and Tuscany
  • collaboration
    • Cungi, Leonardo
  • methods
    • Portraiture, §III: Manufacture
  • patrons and collectors
    • Doria, §II: (1) Gian Carlo Doria
    • Pius IV, Pope
    • Salviati
    • Vecchietti, Bernardo
  • pupils
    • Ciampelli, Agostino
    • Cigoli, Lodovico, §1: Training and early works, to 1589
    • Mochi, Francesco
    • Pagani, Gregorio
    • Pomarancio, Niccolò
    • Tempesta, Antonio
  • teachers
    • Bronzino, Agnolo, §2(ii): Workshop practice
  • works
    • Cloister, §3: Painting
    • Italy, §III, 4(i): High Renaissance and Mannerist painting, c 1500–c 1600: Florence