Painter, decorative artist, and architect, born in Udine, NE Italy. He entered the workshop of Raphael in Rome, and became a specialist in a style of decoration called grotesque, influenced by the graceful ornamental schemes being discovered in the excavations of ancient Rome. He later moved back to Udine and, by 1552, was in charge of all public building there. His decorative style rapidly spread throughout Europe, and was especially popular during the Neoclassical period of the 18th-c.
Giovanni Nanni, also Giovanni de' Ricamatori, better known as Giovanni da Udine (1487-1564), was an Italian painter and architect born in Udine.
After the death of Raphael, da Udine continued to work on projects initiated by his master, namely the Villa Madama in Rome. He continued his work until the sack of Rome in 1527, when he departed to work in Florence, where he worked on the stuccoes in Sagrestia Nuova in San Lorenzo, and Venice, where he worked on the stucco decoration in the Palazzo Grimani, around 1540.
In Udine, he worked as an architect on the Torre dell'Orologio (Clock-Tower) and the Fontana di Piazza Nuova (Piazza Nuova Fountain).
He returned to Rome in 1560 to work on the third floor of the Logge Vaticane, and died in this city in 1564.
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