Hoofd van vrouw

by 1530

Returns to his native Parma

By 1530 Parmigianino had come back from Bologna to Parma. Here, among other works, he painted “The Madonna with the Long Neck” and took on the decoration of the church of Santa Maria della Steccata.

May 1531

Commissioned to decorate Santa Maria della Steccata

In May 1531 Parmigianino was commissioned to fresco the church of Santa Maria della Steccata in praise of the Virgin, with the Coronation as the main scene, and undertook to finish within eighteen months; the work stalled again and again over irregular supplies and the church administration's dislike of his unusual design. Other accounts say the commission was for two altarpieces, of Saint Joseph and Saint John the Baptist. The confraternity advanced him a salary.

1534

“The Madonna with the Long Neck” destined for the Baiardi chapel

In 1534 it was decided that “The Madonna with the Long Neck” would hang in the chapel of Elena Baiardi's family. The painting, on which he worked until 1540 (around 1535, by other accounts), remained unfinished, according to Vasari because it never fully satisfied him.

December 1535

Seeks payment for “The Madonna with Saint Zachariah”

Parmigianino appointed Don Nicola Cassola, a Parmese cleric at the Roman Curia, as his legal representative and authorised him to collect 50 gold scudi from Bonifazio Gozzadini for “The Madonna with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Zachariah”, painted in Bologna in 1528 (now in the Uffizi).