Taddeo and Federico Zuccaro

Book excerpt: One of the most important series of drawings in late-sixteenth-century Italian art--the twenty large sheets by Federico Zuccaro (ca. 1541-1609) showing the early life of his older brother, Taddeo (1529-1566)--was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1999. Never fully published, the series shows Taddeo's trials and tribulations as a young artist trying to achieve success in Renaissance Rome, and his eventual triumph. The drawings contain charming details of the life of a struggling artist and reveal much about the younger brother, Federico, a successful artist in his own right. This volume--published to coincide with an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum to be held from October 1, 2007, to January 6, 2008--presents Federico Zuccaro's twenty drawings and accompanying poems in their historical and artistic context and will be of interest to art historians and general readers alike. Of particular importance is its examination of the role of the copying of masterworks in the training of young Renaissance artists.