Giulio Romano (c. 1499–1546)

Roman painter and architect. As assistant to Raphael, he developed a style characterized by its exaggerated movement and rich colours.

Having studied under Raphael, Giulio became his chief assistant on the Sala del Incendio frescoes in the Vatican. He succeeded Raphael as head of his Rome workshop, together with Giovanni Francesco Penni (c. 1488–c. 1528), completing the Sala di Costantino frescoes and other works, including the Transfiguration (Vatican). In 1524 he entered the service of Federico Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and in 1526 he built the Palazzo del Tè, a Mannerist building of capricious design with Giulio's frescoes inside, which range from the extremes of illusionism in the Sala di Psyche/Psyche's Room to the grotesque in the Sala dei Giganti/Room of the Giants. Later he designed the facade of the Church of S Petronio in Bologna.

He designed some pornographic prints that caused so much public outrage that the engraver, Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1488–1534), was imprisoned. The poet Pietro Aretino, however, was inspired to write sonnets about them. Among Giulio's other works as a painter are The Martyrdom of St Stephen (Genoa), The Holy Family (Dresden), Mary and Jesus (Louvre, Paris), and Madonna della Gatta (Naples).