Leonardo Da Pistoia Grazia Biography
Leonardo Grazia or Grazzi known as Leonardo da Pistoia (1502 - 1548) was an Italian painter, active in Tuscany, Rome and Naples during the Renaissance
Leonardo Grazia was born in Pistoia and learned the fundamentals of art in the workshop of his father Matteo di Nardo. In 1530 he moved to Lucca, where he came into contact with Agostino Marti and probably with Luca Penni, brother of Giovan Francesco.
In the 1930s he settled in Rome, where he may have collaborated with Giovan Francesco Penni on the painting “Noli me tangere”, now in the Prado, created for the Maddalena chapel in Trinità dei Monti around 1524. Leonardo Grazia was inspired by Perin of Vaga, Giulio Romano and Penni. In one of the paintings “Madonna with Child and Saint John” in the Borghese Gallery, he replicated the architectural backdrop of the altarpiece of Santa Maria dell'Anima.
In the 1940s he worked in Naples, where he created various works such as the panel with "San Michele and the dragon" in the Church of Santa Maria del Parto in Mergellina, the "Venus and Adonis" in the Capodimonte Museum, the "Presentation at the Temple" for the main altar of the church of Monteoliveto, the "Redentore" for the church of Gesù Vecchio, the "St. Michael and the dragon" in the Convent of San Francesco in Folloni (AV), the "Nativity between Saints Francis and John the Evangelist ” and “the Immaculate Conception between Saints Rocco and Francesco” in the Potentine churches of San Francesco and Santa Maria del Sepolcro.
Leonardo da Pistoia's painting is characterized by formal simplification and the almost metallic smoothness of the colour.
In the past he was confused with Leonardo di Francesco di Lazzaro Malatesta (ca 1483 - after 1518), as both were known as "Leonardo da Pistoia".
