Benedetto Bonfigli is notable in that he is one of the Renaissance's earliest notable painters native to Perugia, granting the city artistic credibility before Raphael began his works. Bonfigli did not rank as high as other Renaissance artists of his time, including Niccolo da Foligno, his fellow pupil under Gozzoli. As Bernhard Berenson writes in his book, "far was it from [Bonfigli] to harbour a feeling... for what in painting is more essential than charming faces and pretty colour." Berenson describes the painter as "a much more dependent person," and more "imitative." Others argue that much of Bonfigli's work was critical in the birth of the Umbria school of art, that had lagged behind Florence and Northern Italy until the mid 15th century, but quickly rose as a first rank with Perugino, his student, and then Raphael.
