Correggio (1489-1534) was a Northern Italian painter who was perhaps the most important precursor to the Italian Baroque style. Spending most of his brief career in Parma, Italy, Correggio was highly influenced by Leonardo and the Venetians, as well as by Michelangelo and Raphael. He painted frescoes as well on canvas. His two most important works are The Assumption of the Virgin and Jupiter and Io. The former is an extremely large fresco that shows Correggio's complete grasp of illusionistic perspective. The figures are full-bodied and healthy, and seem to move with such ease that they defy gravity. Jupiter and Io is an entirely different piece in terms of subject matter as the scene is of Jupiter, in the form of a storm cloud, embracing Io. Correggio uses sfumato to staggeringly impressive effect in this piece and the textures are rich and detailed. The painting is one of my favorites, at least in the sphere of Italian painting. Correggio did not hold much sway over artists of his century, but by the 17th century his work achieved widespread appreciation.