Francesco Mazzola, aka Parmigianino (1503–1540) was one of the founding artists of the Mannerist style. In fact, his famous painting The Madonna of the Long Neck is a classic example of Mannerism‘s theatrical exaggerations. He is also well known for Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (above), in which the convex mirror allows him an excuse to distort his long, elegant fingers where they touch its bottom edge. He also made many drawings and prints.
Even if you’re not a foodie, Parmigianino immediately brings to mind Parmesan cheese. That’s because both the artist and the cheese are named for Parma, the city and province of Italy from which they both come. Like many other Italian artists who moved around during their careers, Parmigianino acquired a nickname related to his hometown. Adding “ino” to the end of a word in Italian is a fond way of signifying something small, so Parmigianino roughly means “little man from Parma”.
Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765) was a Roman painter of vedute (views). This was a genre of highly-detailed images depicting urban scenery and tourist attractions in major Italian cities like Rome and Venice. The genre grew prominent in the 18th century, thanks to the popularity of the Grand Tour, in which wealthy Europeans took long, fashionable sightseeing voyages through Italy’s cultural capitals. Many bought view paintings to bring home with them as souvenirs.
Panini is the Italian word for sandwiches (Panino is the singular noun). Most of us know the panini as an especially delicious type of sandwich that is heated and pressed flat, but in Italy, it can refer to any kind of sandwich.
Italian Artists Who Inspired Food: Vittore Carpaccio and Giovanni Bellini