Parmigianino

(born Jan. 11, 1503, Parma, Duchy of Milan—died Aug. 24, 1540, Casalmaggiore, Cremona) Italian painter and etcher. He painted some of his early frescoes for San Giovanni Evangelista; they were influenced by Correggio, who had recently worked in the same church. His originality is seen in his Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1524). His Madonna of the Long Neck (1534) is typical of his later work, which is characterized by ambiguity of spatial composition, elongation of the human figure, and the pursuit of a rhythmical, sensuous beauty beyond nature. Among the most remarkable portrait painters of his age, he was one of the first artists to develop the elegant and sophisticated version of Mannerism that influenced the next generation of painters and was one of the first Italian artists to practice etching.