Giovanni Antonio Sogliani

Who was Giovanni Antonio Sogliani?

Giovanni Antonio Sogliani was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Florence.

Giorgio Vasari in his Vite, the main source of Sogliani's biography, claimed that the painter had apprenticed with Lorenzo di Credi for two decades. While impossible, the legend rings true because of the persistence an archaic style in Sogliani's paintings. He was the executor of Lorenzo's will in 1531. He painted a Martyrdom of St Acasio for the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. Vasari claims that Sogliani was influenced by Fra Bartolomeo in this painting. He painted a St Martin for the Orsanmichele. He painted an altarpiece of St Brigitta now in the Museo di San Marco. He also painted a number of works for the Cathedral of Pisa, a commission that had previously been requested from Perino del Vaga. This included three canvases for the "Sacrifice of Abel, "Sacrifice of Cain, and Sacrifice of Noah completed by 15 May 1533. On 23 March 1536, he was commissioned an altarpiece of the Virgin with child and Saints.

He painted an Allegory of the Immaculate Conception now in the Accademia di Belli Arti in Florence. Among his pupils are Sigismondo Foschi and Zanobi di Poggino.