b. about 1465 near Lake Maggiore, Italy, d. about 1553
ceramicist
Italian

Born near Lake Maggiore in the late 1470s, Giorgio di Pietro Andreoli moved to Gubbio in central Italy around 1490. There he became the director of an active maiolica workshop. Because of his great skill in the difficult luster technique, Andreoli was frequently hired to embellish the wares of other workshops, an unusual practice. After adorning these works of other masters, he often signed the pieces himself. So famous did he become that the Duke of Urbino granted him citizenship and exempted him from paying taxes and duties. In 1519, the pope himself renewed Andreoli's exemptions "in consideration of the honor which redounds to the city...and in consideration of [his wares'] great usefulness and profitableness in revenue."