Vivid Days in the Life of a 16th Century Roman Artist

Aprofoundly contemporary sensibility animates “Taddeo Zuccaro: An Artist’s Life in Renaissance Rome.” Although all of the works in this instructive yet sentimental exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum were made more than 400 years ago, most are so charming and accessible that they transport viewers immediately to the 16th century, giving a seemingly intimate glimpse into the daily life of a hard-working artist whose struggles and triumphs are remarkably similar to those of artists today.

The show includes four drawings by the prominent Mannerist Taddeo Zuccaro (1529-1566), who was revered for his skills as a draftsman. But touching details abound in the show’s centerpiece, a suite of 20 drawings by his younger brother, Federico Zuccaro (c. 1539-1609), made to depict the early stages of Taddeo’s career.

Introduced by a static image of the allegorical figures Faith and Hope flanking the Zuccaro family crest--a sugar loaf (zucchero) sprouting seven lilies--the story doesn’t really get going until the second drawing. This rectangular work shows the 14-year-old Taddeo gazing longingly over his shoulder at his distraught parents, as a pair of muscular angels lead him away from the small town of Sant’Angelo in Vado, where he was born, and toward Rome, where he dreamed of studying painting and drawing. Looking clueless and terrified, the 4-year-old Federico peeks out from behind his mother’s dress.

Like a movie storyboard, the remaining chalk and ink drawings sequentially outline the next four years of Taddeo’s life. Aside from three occasions when paired allegorical figures (Fortitude and Patience; Wisdom and Diligence; and Study and Intelligence) interrupt, the narrative proceeds with swift economy.

In a few of the often oddly shaped pictures (whose outline resembles a plump pair of weightlifter’s dumbbells), several moments are compressed into single scenes. In one, Taddeo appears four times: as his apprenticeship to his cousin, the painter Francesco Sant’Agnolo is rebuffed; as he wanders the streets in tears; as he is stopped in his tracks by the Palazzo Calcagni’s elaborately decorated facade; and as he sketches Polidoro da Caravaggio’s work, overcoming his sadness through art.

Difficulty makes up a large part of the boy’s first years in Rome. Just after he beholds a spectacular panorama of the Italian capital, a frightful trio confronts him on his entry to the city. Identified by inscriptions on their clothing, Servitude, Hardship and Toil drive home the point that the immediate future does not bode well for the aspiring artist.

This notion is repeatedly illustrated in his labors for the minor painter Giovanni Piero Condopulos, who treated Taddeo cruelly, forcing him to toil long into the night, denying him food and preventing him from pursuing his art. In another “time-lapse” image, he makes a bed, carries water and firewood, lights the stove and cooks dinner.

Throughout these hardships of Dickensian proportion, his drive to make art is undiminished. Whenever he can steal a moment from his heartless masters, he can be seen, pencil in hand, drawing determinedly on any available scrap of paper--even on the shutters of his bedroom window.

Upon quitting his day job, he explores the city, sketching ancient sculptures and friezes and modern facades and frescoes, including Raphael’s works at the Villa Farnesian. But life on the street is tough, and Taddeo returns to his parents’ home, sick, malnourished and plagued by hallucinations.

In no time at all, he’s back on his feet. Crossing paths with the Three Graces, he again enters Rome, where he copies more masterpieces, including Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment,” from the Sistine Chapel. His story ends in triumph, with Taddeo raised high on a scaffold, painting the facade of the Palazzo Mattei as Michelangelo, Giorgio Vasari and others looking on admiringly.

The show’s highlight is the juxtaposition of a preparatory drawing Taddeo made in 1548 for the Palazzo Mattei and Federico’s 1590 depiction of his brother at work on the building, with the same scene clearly visible on the facade’s upper left.

Drawn 24 years after his brother’s death, Federico’s series is not so much an insider’s view of a struggling artist’s daily life, but a mythologized version of a revered artist’s early years.

* “Taddeo Zuccaro: An Artist’s Life in Renaissance Rome,” J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, (310) 440-7300, through Aug. 29. Closed Mondays. Parking reservations required.