He was commonly known as da Cortona, since he came from the Tuscan city of Cortona, where for generations his family has been producing numerous valued stonemasons and constructors. The boy’s talent was early recognized and so he was sent to apprentice at the workshop of the Florentine master Andrea Commodi, who temporarily resided in Cortona. His acquaintance with another Florentine, a member of a banker family, Marcello Sacchetti, who resided in Rome, led him onto the Roman salons. It is for him that Pietro created his first excellent works, including The Rape of the Sabine Women. He also completed ten portraits for the Sacchetti family, including Cardinal Giulio Sacchetti, who in turn, in 1624 introduced him to the greatest patrons of art at that time -  members of the Barberini family together with an outstanding funder and patron – Pope Urban VIII. The pope entrusted da Cortona with an honorable task – the creation of frescos, of which the topic was The Life of St. Bibiana, in the recently modernized Church of Santa Bibiana. The next commission followed soon after. This time da Cortona took on an even more honorable task – the creation of frescos of a private nature, but of truly royal proportions. Beginning in 1633 the painter was employed at Palazzo Barberini – the family residence of the then unquestionable rulers of the State of the Church – to paint the vault in the Salone Grande (The Triumph of Divine Providence). This painting seemed to fully satisfy the expectations and great ambitions of the Barberinis. No one before had ever achieved such a an excellent illusion of space, in such a masterful way depict perspective foreshortenings and fill space with lively, glowing color. While the earlier of da Cortona’s paintings still showed the spirit of mannerism from Florence, his later works took on more classical forms. In them the painter displays the richness of compositional solutions, as well as the abilities to put together large groups of figures.

Work on the great fresco in Salone Grande lasted longer than expected, owing to the artist’s trip to Florence, where he began working for the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II de’ Medici, in his Palazzo Pitti. At that time he also travelled to Venice, where he was privileged to come in close contact with frescos and especially perspective foreshortenings, used by Paolo Veronese, as well as the legendary color schemes of Titian. However, as soon as the news reached him, that his students are attempting to take advantage of the master’s absence, he immediately returned to Rome and finally in 1639 completed his masterpiece. Only then, did he once again return to Florence.

He came back the Eternal City in 1647 and remained there until his death. In the meantime the papal throne was assumed by Pope Innocent X, who similarly to his predecessor was able to fully value the painter’s talent.  As proof da Cortona was entrusted with the completion of a grand work, this time ennobling the Pamphilj family, from which the new bishop of Rome came. In 1651 da Cortona began work on a ceiling fresco of the main hall of Palazzo Pamphilj. Three years later he completed the monumental painting entitled The Story of Aeneas. At that time he became a leading Roman painter, bought a house and refused the invitation to the Spanish court of Philip IV, which was given to him by Diego Velázquez, who was in the city at the time.

The second field of interest of da Cortona was architecture, to which he devoted himself with equal passion as to painting, although it must be admitted that in this area he was self-taught. His buildings were characterized by an artistic use of columns in part of the façade, as well as by their „moved”, jutting out, often protruding form (Santa Maria della Pace). It is often forgotten that it was da Cortona, along with Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, who was one of the most valued Roman architects of the mid-XVI century, while the buildings of these three great men show mutual influence and artistic inspirations. The architectural talent of da Cortona was appreciated by another pope for whom he had the opportunity to work – Alexander VII from the Chigi family. As evidence of this recognition the artist was granted a noble title.

Da Cortona devoted a particularly long amount of time to one building. This was the Church of Santi Luca e Martina, under the patronage of the Academy of St. Luke (Accademia di San Luca). As principe (chairman) of the academy, which under the auspices of the Barberinis became a significant artistic institution of higher learning, the painter desired to be buried in this very church. He designated appropriate funds to that aim, to renovate the lower part of the church, where he was to be laid to rest, while starting in 1634, so from the moment of running the academy, he aided the church with annual donations. When during the aforementioned works on the lower part, the remains of St. Martina were discovered, it was decided the church would be devoted to this very saint and da Cortona contributed to it both in the artistic dimension, as well as financially. It was him that Cardinal Francesco Barberini entrusted with a thorough reconstruction of the upper part of the church.

In the last years of his life da Cortona suffered from arthritis, which to a large extent made it impossible for him to work. He was often unable to accept incoming commissions and gave them over to his numerous students. In a pre-prepared will he bequeathed his rather large fortune to the Church of Santi Luca e Martina, in the crypt of which he was buried. The place of his burial is commemorated by an inscription and a bust.

Some of the works of Pietro da Cortona in Rome:

• Palazzo Mattei di Giove

Frescos Stories of Salomon (1623)

• Church of Santa Bibiana

Fresco in the left nave of the church – The Life of St. Bibiana (1626)

• Musei Capitolini – Palace of the Conservators

The Victory of Alexander over Darius (1650)

Pinacoteca Capitolina

The Chariot of Venus (Aurora) (approx.1622)

Madonna and Child with Saints (a copy of Titian’s painting) (approx. 1625) 

Portrait of Urban VIII (1627)

The Rape of the Sabine Women(1629)

The Triumph of   Bacchus (approx.1625)

The Sacrifice of Polyxena

• Galleria Borghese

Portrait of Marcello Sacchetti (approx. 1626)

• Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda

The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence in the main altar (1626)

• Church of San Salvatore in Lauro

Adoration of the Shepherds (1626)

• Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini

Fresco The Triumph of Divine Providence (1633–1639)

Design of the palace chapel

Villa Sacchetti a Castelfusano (veduta)

• Basilica San Pietro in Vaticano

Main altar (Holy Trinity) in the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and decorations of vault in stucco

• Musei Vaticani

Painting decorations of the chapel of Pope Urban VIII

Pinacoteca Vaticana

The Vision of St. Francis

• Palazzo Pamphilj

Fresco depicting scenes from Aeneid – The Story of   Aeneas (1654)

• Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella (also known as Chiesa Nuova)

The central fresco of the ceiling showing the Vision of St. Philip Neri, painting of the dome, images of prophets in the dome pendentives (1660), topping off the apse and frescos in the new sacristy

• Church of San Carlo ai Catinari

Main altar – St. Charles Borromeo leading a procession (1667)

Da Cortona’s most important buildings and architectural structures in Rome:

• Church of Santi Luca e Martina (1656) – interior modernization, new façade, dome
• Façade of the Church of Santa Maria della Pace and arrangement of the square in front of the church (1657–1667)
• Façade of the Church Santa Maria in Via Lata (1662)
• Design of the dome in the Church of San Carlo al Corso (1668)

Design of the Gavotti Chapel in the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino (completed after da Cortona’s death by his students)