Giulio Campi (1502 – 1572) was born in a family of painters from Cremona. They developed a style that mixed elements of Venetian school with Mannerism, along with Flemish and German influences. Campi and his brothers Antonio and Vincenzo, were sons of Galeazzo, all of them including their father were painters. Another distant relative of theirs called Bernardino Campi was also a painter and he assisted Campi with his artwork. Campi was an architect and also the eldest brother. His style of painting was rich in color, as from the Venetian influence. Campi helped to define the Cremonese School of painting and showed a unique style even in his early works, such as his Nazarius for the Church of Sant’ Abbondio and his first altarpiece Virgin and Child with SS Celsus. These pieces displayed an influence from Brescian artists, as well as Emilian artists such as Girolamo Romani and Il Moretto da Brescia.
Campi also showed a noted influence called Pordenone from Giovanni Antonio de Sacchis. His fresco works were seen throughout churches in Milan, Mantua and Cremona. These include notable works such as his Descent from the Cross, the altarpieces Nativity with Virgin and Saints and Saints with a Marchese Stampa, also work in the San Girolamo. Campi was also a successful portraitist who showed elaborate sophistication and coloring in his piece, Alessandro Farnese or Portrait of Ottavio Farnese (1551). Quite a number of his portraits including Portrait of a Musician, can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery. They also include Portrait of a Man, Portrait of Galeazzo Campi, and one of his father. In Cremona, he was a known collaborator with Boccaccino Camillo, son of Boccaccio Boccaccino, the Emilian painter.
