Parmigianino, whose real name is Francesco Mazzola, was the eighth child of Filippo Mazzola and one Donatella Abbati.

His father died of the plague two years after Parmigianino's birth, and the children had been raised by their uncles, Michele and Pier Ilario, who according to Vasari were modestly talented artists.

In 1515, his uncle had received a commission from Nicolò Zangrandi for the decoration of a chapel in San Giovanni Evangelista; a work later completed by a young Parmigianino.

By the age of eighteen, he had already completed the Bardi Altarpiece.

In 1521, Parmigianino had been sent to Viadana (along with painter Girolamo Bedoli, who is to marry his cousin) to escape the wars between the French, Imperial, and papal armies.

In Viadana, paints two panels in tempera, depicting Saint Francis for the church of the Frati de' Zoccoli, and the Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine for San Pietro.