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Lorenzo di Credi (c. 1459 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor. He first influenced Leonardo da Vinci and then was greatly influenced by him.

[edit] Life

Born in Florence, he started to work in Andrea del Verrocchio's workshop. After the death of his master, he inherited the direction of the workshop. For the workshop, he executed the Madonna di Piazza for Pistoia Cathedral, and probably also collaborated on some sculptures.

Amongst his other early works are an Annunciation in the Uffizi, a Madonna with Child in the Galleria Sabauda of Turin, and Adoration of the Child in the Querini Stampalia of Venice. Of a later period are a Madonna and Saints (Musée du Louvre) (1493) and an Adoration of the Child in the Uffizi. In Fiesole, he remade parts of Fra Angelico panels on the altars of the church of San Domenico.

Lorenzo's mature works (such as in the Crucifixion in the Gottingen Museum, Annunciation of Cambridge and the Madonna and Saints of Pistoia) are influenced by Fra Bartolomeo, Perugino and young Raphael.

In recent times, one of di Credi's works gained attention when scholars pointed out a resemblance between the face of Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the face of Caterina Sforza in a portrait by him. Caterina Sforza was the Lady of Forlì and Imola (in Italy), later prisoner of Cesare Borgia. The portrait, known also as La dama dei gelsomini, is now in the Pinacoteca of Forlì.

He is apparently a direct ancestor of current Minnesota Twins American baseball player Joe Crede.

Madonna with Child and Two Saints, early 16th century.

The Adoration of the Child

Adoration-National Museum of Serbia

[edit] References

• Hobbes, James R. (1849). Picture collector's manual; Dictionary of Painters (volume II). T. & W. Boone, 29 Bond Street, London; Digitized by Googlebooks (2006) from Oxford library. p. 153. http://books.google.com/books?q=intitle:picture+intitle:collector's.