Daniele da Volterra

Daniele Ricciarelli(Italian:[daˈnjɛːlerittʃaˈrɛlli];c.1509 – 4 April 1566), better known asDaniele da Volterra(/voʊlˈtɛrə/,Italian:[daˈnjɛːleda(v)volˈtɛrra]), was aManneristItalian painterandsculptor.
He is best remembered for his association withMichelangelo. Several of Daniele's most important works were based on designs made for that purpose by Michelangelo. After Michelangelo's death, Daniele was hired to cover the genitals in hisLast Judgmentwith vestments and loincloths. This earned him the nicknameIl Braghettone("thebreechesmaker").
Daniele Ricciarelli was born inVolterra(in present-dayTuscany). As a boy, he initially studied with theSieneseartistsIl SodomaandBaldassare Peruzzi, but he was not well received and left them. He appears to have accompanied the latter to Rome in 1535, and helped paint the frescoes in thePalazzo Massimo alle Colonne. He then became an apprentice toPerino del Vaga.
From 1538 to 1541 he helped Perino with the painting of frescoes in the villa of Cardinal Trivuzio at Salone, in theMassimichapel inTrinità dei Monti, and the chapel of thecrucifixioninSan Marcello al Corso. He was commissioned the painting of a frieze in the main salon of thePalazzo Massimo alle Colonne, with the life ofFabius Maximus.
In Rome he also started working in the circle ofMichelangeloand befriended him. Michelangelo used his influence withPope Paul IIIto secure Daniele commissions and the post of superintendent of the works of the Vatican, a position he retained until the Pope's death. Michelangelo also provided him with sketches on which Daniele based some of his paintings, especially his series of frescoes in the Orsini chapel in the Trinity College, the commission for which Daniele had received in December 1541.
Later Daniele was commissioned by Paul III to complete the decoration of theSala Regia. On the death of the pope in 1549 he lost his position as superintendent and the pension to which it entitled him. He then devoted himself chiefly to sculpture.
He died in Rome in 1566. According to Daniele's will, the marble knee of the missing left leg of theChristfrom Michelangelo'sDepositionwas in his possession at the time of his death. Among his pupils wasGiulio Mazzonifrom Piacenza.Leonardo Ricciarelli was his nephew.
Daniele's best-known painting is theDescent from the Crossin theTrinità dei Monti(c.1545), after drawings by Michelangelo; by an excess of praise this work was at one time grouped withRaphael'sTransfigurationand theLast Communion of St. JeromebyDomenichinoas the most famous pictures in Rome. Daniele's two-sided painting of David killing Goliath (restored in 2008) in theLouvretoo seems to have been based on Michelangelo's designs; for a long time it was attributed to him.
Other notable works include theMassacre of the Innocents(1557) in theUffizi Gallery, Florence, a portrait he drew of Michelangelo and a bust he made from Michelangelo'sdeath mask.
A well-known sculpture is theCleopatrain theBelvedere. From France, Daniele received the commission to make abronzeequestrian statueofHenry II, but he finished only the horse; this was later used for a statue ofLouis XIIIat thePlace Royaleand melted down during theFrench Revolution.
The 1913Catholic Encyclopediagave the following description of Daniele's style as a painter:
Daniele is infamous for having covered over, with vestments and fig-leaves, many of the genitals and backsides in Michelangelo'sThe Last Judgmentfresco in theSistine Chapel. This work was begun in 1565, shortly after theCouncil of Trenthad condemned nudity in religious art. It earned Daniele the nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-maker").
He also chiseled away a part of the fresco and repainted the larger part ofSaint Catherineand the entire figure ofSaint Blaisebehind her. This was done because in the original version Blaise had appeared to look at Catherine's naked behind, and because to some observers the position of their bodies suggested sexual intercourse.
The loincloths and draperies in the lower half of the fresco, however, were not painted by Daniele. His work on the Last Judgment was interrupted at the end of 1565 by the death ofPope Pius IV, after which the scaffolding he used had to be removed quickly because the chapel was needed for the election of a new pope.
His pupils included painterMichele Alberti.