Born in
Florence to a family of weavers, Penni entered
Raphael's workshop very early in his life, and collaborated with him on several works, including the famous
Rooms of the
Vatican Palace, as well as the frescoes of
Villa Farnesina, both in
Rome.
Heinrich Wölfflin and some other writers credited him with the entire execution of the
Raphael Cartoons, with Raphael only creating the initial design, though more recent writers believe Raphael did much of the work himself. After the premature death of Raphael, Penni collaborated with
Giulio Romano to the completion of works such as the
Hall of Constantine, the
Transfiguration, the
Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin (1525) in
Monteluce, and the
Palazzo Te of
Mantua. Penni also provided designs for the tapestries of the
life of Christ for
Clement VII for the decoration of the
Sala del Concistoro in the
Vatican. In 1526, he left Rome and joined back up with Giulio Romano, who had arrived in Mantua in 1524. According to Vasari, he was not well received in Mantua (though he did work with Romano on the frescoes at the
Palazzo Te) and so soon began a long journey to Naples via Lombardy and Rome. He died in Naples in 1528. His pupils included
Leonardo da Pistoia (Grazia). ==Notes==