Bardi Altarpiece (Parmigianino) Bardi Altarpiece (Parmigianino) The Bardi Altarpiece (), is an Italian Mannerist painting by the Italian painter Parmigianino, dating from c. 1521 and housed in the church of Santa Maria at Bardi, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. In 1521 Parma was invaded by the imperial-papal troops under Prospero Colonna, in the course of the Italian Wars. The young Parmigianino, then seventeen, was sent by his family to Viadana to his cousin's house. According to Italian late Renaissance art biographer Giorgio Vasari, there Parmigianino painted two tempera panels: "St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata" (lost) and the "Marriage of St. Catherine", which was placed in the
Early Netherlandish painting both sides or with the reverse bearing family emblems, crests or ancillary outline sketches. In the case of single panels, the markings on the reverse are often wholly unrelated to the obverse and may be later additions, or as Campbell speculates, "done for the artist's amusement". Painting each side of a panel was practical since it prevented the wood from warping. Usually the frames of hinged works were constructed before the individual panels were worked on. Glue binder was often used as an inexpensive alternative to oil. Many works using this medium were produced but few survive today because of