Antonio da Correggio, born Antonio Allegri, is another classic example of a white male artist to whom history has given a lot more credit than was due. 

For a long time, art historians believed that Antonio was a self-taught genius who manifested his artistic talent from nowhere in the middle of a poverty stricken artistic vacuum. This has been found to likely be untrue, as it seems he had an uncle who was an artist of some talent, moreover his first works seem to take great inspiration from classicism artists like Francesco Francia. So no, he was not in fact some Renaissance-era Thornton Dial Sr., but there is a good reason for this misconception. It seems that there was very little written about Correggio in his time. Moreover, one of the more significant accounts of his life was written by Giorgio Vasari, and there is no evidence to indicate that Vasari was ever able to talk to anyone who knew Correggio in real life.

Additionally, it was disproven that Correggio was raised in abject poverty. His father, while not entirely rich, was a landowner, and after he died Correggio’s father was able to come up with a sizable dowery when his granddaughter (or Correggio’s daughter) got married. Actually, the only fact that we know about him that has really stood the test of time was that he was apparently a very melancholy, lonesome individual, which probably explains why so little information on him has survived. 

While he wasn’t the spontaneous genius that his original legend set him up to be, he was a man of considerable skill. He not only painted a number of masterpieces, but he is also responsible for a number of church ceilings across northern Italy. He was known for his mastery of a technique called sfumato (an extremely subtle blending of tones) and his style would be later imitated by Baroque artists. So he is by no means someone to be disregarded, but like many artists, his legend has become greater than his life.