Giampietrino

Who was Giampietrino?

Giampietrino, probably Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli, was a north Italian painter of the Lombard school and the Leonardo circle, succinctly characterized by Sidney J. Freedberg as an "exploiter of Leonardo's repertory."

He was a very productive painter of large altarpieces, Madonnas, holy women in half figure, and mythological women. For a long time, the true identity of the artist was unknown; he was only known as a so-called "Giampietrino" whose name appeared in lists of the members of Leonardo's studio. In 1929, Wilhelm Suida suggested that he could perhaps be Giovanni Battista Belmonte, since a Madonna signed with this name and dated 1509 had been associated stylistically with Giampietrino. Since then, this assumption is considered outdated, and Giampietrino is identified predominantly with Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli, who is known through documents.

Giampietrino has been regarded as a talented but limited painter who contributed substantially to the distribution of the late style of Leonardo da Vinci. He copied numerous masterpieces by Leonardo, as well as leaving behind numerous capable original compositions of his own. Many of his works are preserved in multiple versions of the same subject.