Where can you see Pietro Perugino in Rome?

At the Vatican Museums: The Delivery of the Keys and Madonna and Child with Saints. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Pietro Perugino's most famous work in Rome?

The Delivery of the Keys, of 1481 to 1482, at the Vatican Museums. Christ hands the keys of heaven to the kneeling Peter, in a vast square with a domed temple and two triumphal arches. It is on the right wall of the Sistine Chapel, and it states the claim of every pope since.

When and where was Pietro Perugino born?

About 1446, at Città della Pieve, Umbria, Italy. Pietro Perugino died in 1523, at Fontignano, Umbria, Italy, aged about 77.

What is Pietro Perugino known for?

Painted the Delivery of the Keys in the Sistine Chapel. Taught Raphael. The leading painter of Umbria in his day. Pietro Perugino was an Italian painter, of the Early Renaissance.

Painter, 1446 to 1523

Pietro Perugino

Perugino led the team that painted the walls of the Sistine Chapel, a generation before Michelangelo touched the ceiling. His fresco of Christ giving the keys to Peter is the one the whole chapel is about.

The Delivery of the Keys by Perugino: Christ hands the keys to the kneeling St Peter in a wide square with a domed temple. — Pietro Perugino, Public domain

A self-portrait of Perugino, a heavy-faced man in a red cap and black coat. — Pietro Perugino, Public domain

Born: 1446, Città della Pieve, Umbria, Italy
Died: 1523, Fontignano, Umbria, Italy
Movement: Early Renaissance
In Rome: 2 works in 1 museum

Where to see Pietro Perugino in Rome

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

Vatican Museums2 works

The Delivery of the Keys
1481 to 1482
Christ hands the keys of heaven to the kneeling Peter, in a vast square with a domed temple and two triumphal arches. It is on the right wall of the Sistine Chapel, and it states the claim of every pope since.
Madonna and Child with Saints
1495 to 1496
An altarpiece painted for the chapel of the town hall of Perugia, in the Pinacoteca.

The life of Pietro Perugino

Pietro Vannucci was born in Umbria around 1446 and took his name from Perugia, where he worked. His pictures are all balance and clear air: figures in a row, a wide paved square, a temple, blue hills.

He was the master of the young Raphael, who learned that calm from him and then left it behind. Perugino died of the plague in 1523.

What to know

Painted the Delivery of the Keys in the Sistine Chapel
Taught Raphael
The leading painter of Umbria in his day

Born: About 1446, Città della Pieve, Umbria, Italy
Died: 1523, Fontignano, Umbria, Italy

Pietro Perugino: common questions

Where can you see Pietro Perugino in Rome?: At the Vatican Museums: The Delivery of the Keys and Madonna and Child with Saints. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Pietro Perugino's most famous work in Rome?: The Delivery of the Keys, of 1481 to 1482, at the Vatican Museums. Christ hands the keys of heaven to the kneeling Peter, in a vast square with a domed temple and two triumphal arches. It is on the right wall of the Sistine Chapel, and it states the claim of every pope since.
When and where was Pietro Perugino born?: About 1446, at Città della Pieve, Umbria, Italy. Pietro Perugino died in 1523, at Fontignano, Umbria, Italy, aged about 77.
What is Pietro Perugino known for?: Painted the Delivery of the Keys in the Sistine Chapel. Taught Raphael. The leading painter of Umbria in his day. Pietro Perugino was an Italian painter, of the Early Renaissance.