Parmigianino (1503–1540) was one of the Italian Renaissance’s great geniuses. Characterized by a distinctive and elegant style and exquisite draftsmanship, he was also one of the first painter-etchers, engraving his own work and disseminating it throughout Italy and northern Europe. This beautiful volume, the definitive work on Parmigianino, focuses on both the public world of his paintings and the private realm of his drawings. It encompasses the latest research and takes full advantage of recent cleanings and restorations of the artist’s major works.

David Ekserdjian, a leading authority on Parmigianino, draws on more than twenty years of research on the artist to consider his entire oeuvre—paintings, drawings,and prints. The book contains several unpublished drawings and a new painting, and it brings together for the first time the new paintings and drawings that have been discovered and published in recent years, some by Ekserdjian himself. The author discusses these works in the context of the artist’s career and development, demonstrating the extraordinary extent of Parmigianino’s creative powers.