Città della Pieve 1445-Fontignano 1523

He worked in Verrocchio's workshop (1470-72) and was influenced by Piero della Francesca and Flemish artists, uniting the clear lines of the former with the use of light of the latter.
He worked a great deal in Umbria, Tuscany and Marche, though his most important commissions came from the papal court after his arrival in Rome in 1478. In 1489 he painted the Giving of the Keys to St. Peter in the Sistine Chapel: a work which opened the path for Raphael, who learned much from his balanced composition with its harmonic relationship between figure and landscape and his preference for brilliant colours. This was in fact his masterpiece; after this he limited himself to reproducing a series of conventional subjects.

The fame of the Sistine fresco was more or less enough to maintain his prestige for the rest of his life. The only real exception of quality was the Crucifix in Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in Florence(1493-95).