Andrea del Brescianino

Who is Andrea del Brescianino?

Andrea del Brescianino or Dei Piccinelli was together with his brother Raffaello known as the Brescianini of Siena. He was the son of a dancing-master at Siena, where he flourished from 1507 to 1525. He was the pupil of a Sienese painter, named Giovan Battista Giusi, and they together painted an altar-piece, representing the 'Virgin and Child, with Saints,' which is in the Siena Academy, and in 1524 the 'Baptism of Christ,' for the baptistery of the cathedral of the same city. In 1525 the brothers went to Florence, and in the same year Andrea, and probably Raffaello also, was registered in the Painters' Guild. A 'Holy Family' by Andrea, who was the better artist of the two, is in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence, and another 'Holy Family,' ascribed to him, is in the Berlin Gallery. The beautiful altar-piece, a 'Holy Family,' of the church of Torre di Bibiano, long attributed to Baldassare Peruzzi, is also supposed to be by him. The brothers appear to have worked under the influence of Fra Bartolommeo.