PERUZZI, BALDASSARRE (TOMMASO)

born 1481, Siena?, Republic of Siena [now in Italy] died Jan. 6, 1536, Rome Sienese architect and painter, one of the earliest artists to attempt illusionist architectural painting (quadratura), the extension of real architecture into imaginary space. A contemporary of Raphael and Donato Bramante, Peruzzi began his career as a painter of frescoes in the Cappella San Giovanni in Siena Cathedral. His first architectural work was the Villa Farnesina in Rome (1509-21), and he also assisted in the fresco decoration of this palace. On Raphael's death, in 1520, Peruzzi was appointed one of the architects for St. Peter's in Rome. Among the many edifices attributed to him, the most significant is probably the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne (c. 1535) in Rome.