In the decades following 1500, painters across central Italy were depicting light in new ways. In Venice they experimented with colour and brushwork, while in Florence they focused on drawing and design. Artists like Francesco Francia in Bologna perfected the treatment of polished surfaces, bright light and rich colours.
In Parma, another visual language was taking shape. Correggio developed a style defined by soft outlines, deep shadows and richly saturated colour. This gives his figures a warmth and sensuous presence. Other artists imitated his subtle interplay of mid-tones and dissolving contours well into the following century.
Correggio’s works were a major inspiration for the young Parmigianino before he moved to Rome in 1524. There, he studied the works of Raphael (1483–1520) and Michelangelo (1475–1564), as well as classical sculpture, mixing formal elegance with the softness of Correggio's touch. His elongated figures, seen as if in twilight, make him one of the most revolutionary artists of that period.
The nighttime scenes in some of Correggio’s religious paintings also captivated other artists who developed their own distinctive styles. This can be seen in Lelio Orsi’s expressive characters drawing from northern European artistic forms and Camillo Procaccini’s monumental and dynamic compositions.
