Born Antonio Allegri da Correggio, he was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Parma school. His art foreshadowed the Rococo art of the 18th century with dynamic compositions and an illusory perspective. Little is known about Correggio’s early life or training. What is known is that he was apprenticed to Francesco Bianchi Ferrara between 1503 and 1505, after which he traveled through Italy painting religious works, becoming increasingly renowned. In 1514, he returned to his hometown of Correggio, and signed an agreement to complete the Madonna altarpiece in the St. Francis Monastery.