Pirro Ligorio: The Renaissance Artist, Architect, and Antiquarian (review)

The present volume is the most authoritative exploration of the life and work of one of the Renaissance great figures, the Neapolitan artist and antiquarian Pirro Ligorio. References to this multifaceted artist have often appeared in a variety of bibliographical material from Giovanni Baglione's brief biographical account of Ligorio in his Vitae (1642) to a 1960 publication by Coffin, Villa d'Este at Tivoli. The volume at hand has its origins in a seminar on Renaissance and Renaissances given at Princeton in the mid-1940's by that luminary Erwin Panofski, who obviously inspired Coffin to pursue the study of Ligorio's classical and humanistic background.

Central to Ligorio's artistic thesis is the need to seek the ideal model for contemporary society in classical antiquity, particularly Roman antiquity. Thus, imperfect or fragmentary classical remains as well as fragmentary inscriptions must be restored, and then studied and imitated. Nevertheless, in spite of his penchant for imitation, Ligorio did not eschew innovation, as is evidenced by the form of and information contained in the second encyclopedia written alphabetically by him at Ferrara, now found at the Archivio di Stato at Turin, which sets forth an organizing principle that would be used in years to come.

Chapter 1 of this volume deals with Ligorio's early years in Rome, caught in the midst of political and social problems but at the same time enjoying the first benefits of the creative milieu found in and sponsored by the newly elected pontiff, Paul III, the former Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, and more specifically by his grandson, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. It is here and during this pontificate that we discover Ligorio's artistic flair, as seen in his Victory drawing, in his Dance of Salome and his Map of Rome, as well as several engravings and sketches, all of which serve as testament to his genius. Chapter 2 picks up on the events of the previous chapter and delves into the particulars of Ligorio's new papal service under Pope Paul IV, a service marked by increased popularity and appreciation of Ligorio as architect and archaeologist.

The record of papal employ that Coffin presents is abundant and scrupulous, and it is from his meticulous and well documented material that we derive a superb portrait of Ligorio as man and artist. Particular focus is given here to Ligorio's elaborate architectural designs of the Vatican Palace and several works at Tivoli, while presenting also Ligorio's self admitting "hardships and accidents" that befell him in the many years of papal service. These problems notwithstanding, Ligorio presses on in his quest for continued ecclesiastical patronage, and indeed we see him flourish in the role of personal archaeologist of Ippolito II d'Este, Cardinal of Ferrara, in his triumphant entry into Tivoli, a land, as Coffin reminds us, littered with the remains of antiquity including such villas as that of the emperor Hadrian and those of such illustrious Romans as Quintilian Varro and Gaius Cassius, not to mention famed temples such as that of Hercules and of the Sybil. In short, a propitious and inspiring land for the enterprising and ever-curious Ligorio, whose activities are splendidly covered by Coffin in Chapter 3 titled "The Villa d'Este at Tivoli."

The last chapter of this book deals with "Ligorio in Ferrara," beginning with the artist's service, in 1568, of Alfonso II d'Este, duke of Ferrara. It is here that we see some of Ligorio's most precise architectural designs such as his plans of earthquake-resistant houses, libraries and museums, roof trusses and ironwork, vault and ceiling projects as well as his drawing of Diana and Endymion, now in the Louvre museum.

The present review does not do justice to the beautifully written, amply documented, and inspiring volume given us by David Coffin, with whom we can only concur that the career of Pirro Ligorio "reveals the man's extraordinary diversity of interests and capabilities...