Sebastianello Nostro Venetiano: The Career of Sebastiano del Piombo and the Concept of a,‘Court Artist’ in Renaissance Rome

Abstract

In recent years increasing interest has been taken in the career and artistic practice of the painter Sebastiano del Piombo (c.1485–1547), but no analysis has ever been made of his institutional role as ‘frate del piombo’ nor in fact of that significant office. This represents one major lacuna in Sebastiano scholarship, as no other Roman artist has taken his name from, or come to be so defined by, an office he held at the papal court. This article sets out to analyse not only the impact on Sebastiano of his place at court, but also the role of the ‘frate del piombo’ at the beginning of the sixteenth century, especially insofar as the office had come to serve as a reward and pension for artists enjoying the favour of the reigning pontiff.