Hermaphroditus als kariatide

c. 1515

Joins Raphael's workshop

The young Giulio became the most gifted pupil and one of the chief assistants in Raphael's crowded workshop, working with him on the frescoes of the Villa Farnesina and the Vatican Loggias and Stanze; his hand is recognised, for example, in the monochrome herms beneath the Expulsion of Heliodorus and the Fire in the Borgo. The start of the collaboration is placed around 1515.

1520

Inherits Raphael's workshop

After Raphael's early death, Giulio, under his master's will, inherited the workshop and its commissions together with his long-time collaborator Giovan Francesco Penni — the start of his independent career. He was entrusted with finishing the master's unfinished work, including the frescoes of the Hall of Constantine in the Vatican.

1520

Keeps the Vatican Stanze commission from Michelangelo

When Raphael died, Michelangelo tried to take over completing the frescoes of the Vatican Stanze, but Giulio, together with Perino del Vaga, kept the commission, since they held the drawings for much of the unfinished work.

1521

Federico II Gonzaga invites him to Mantua

On the recommendation of Baldassare Castiglione, man of letters and Raphael's patron, Federico II Gonzaga invited Giulio to Mantua as court painter. The ruler courted him from 1522, being especially attracted by his skill as an architect.