Alessandro Bonvicino
Encyclopedia
Alessandro Bonvicino (c. 1498 – December 22, 1554), more commonly known as Il Moretto da Brescia, was an Italian
Renaissance
painter of Brescia
and Venice
.
, in Brescian territory, and studied first under Fioravante Ferramola
. Others state he trained with Vincenzo Foppa
. His brothers Pietro and Jacopo were also painters. The 1911 Britannica claims he apprenticed with Titian
in Venice
and that Moretto modelled his earlier portrait-painting style on the Venetian style. On the other hand, the style also resembles that of Giorgione
or late Bellini
. The 1911 Britannica also states that he conceived a great enthusiasm for Raphael, though he never traveled to Rome
; on the other hand, his classical serenity resembles that shown by Leonardo
and his followers in Lombardy such as, for example, Bramantino
. He may have consulted with his contemporary Girolamo Savoldo
.
Moretto excelled more in sedate altarpieces than in narrative action, and more in oil-painting than in fresco, although he painted fine frescoes depicting the lollygagging daughters of Count Martinengo in one of the palaces near Brescia. In 1521, he worked with Girolamo Romanino in the Cappella del Sacramento in the old cathedral of Brescia, where Moretto completed a Last Supper, Elijah in the Desert, and a Fall of Manna. He was active during 1522-24 in Padua
.
He painted alongside with Lorenzo Lotto
at Santa Maria Maggiore in Brescia. Also in Brescia, he completed a Five Virgin Martyrs and his masterpiece, the Assumption of the Madonna for the church of San Clemente; a Coronation of the Madonna with four saints (c. 1525) for the church of Santi Nazaro e Celso; a St. Joseph for Santa Maria della Grazie; and a St Nicholas of Ban for Santa Maria de Miracoli. He collaborated with Floriano Ferramola in the decoration of the dome of the cathedral in Brescia.
In the Kunsthistorisches Museum
, Vienna is a St Justina (once ascribed to Pordenone
); in the Staedel Museum, Frankfort, the Madonna enthroned between Sts Anthony and Sebastian; in the Berlin Museum, a colossal Adoration of the Shepherds, and a large votive picture (one of the master's best) of the "Madonna and Child," with infant angels and other figures above the clouds, and below, amid a rich landscape, two priests; in the National Gallery, London
, St Bernardin and other saints and two impressive portraits.
Throughout his career his works display an internal oscillation between the traditions of the Venetian
and Central Italian schools. Simultaneously he looked at the form and colour of Venetian artists such as Titian
and Palma Vecchio
(1480–1528) whilst his classicising, sweet intensity earned him the name 'Raphael
of Brescia
'. Though there is some uncertainty regarding his studio, he took on a number of pupils the most important of whom was the portraitist Giovanni Battista Moroni
(c.1520-1578).
Il Moretto is stated to have been a man of great personal piety, preparing himself by prayer and fasting for any great act of sacred art, such as the painting of the Virgin-mother. His dated works extend from 1524 to 1554, and he taught the portrait-painter Giambattista Moroni. He also influenced Callisto Piazza
.
; Metropolitan Museum, New York; Hermitage
, St. Petersburg; Kunsthistorisches Museum
, Vienna; Staedel Museum, Frankfurt; Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice; Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo
, Brescia; Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan; National Gallery of Art
, Washington; Ashmolean Museum
, Oxford; Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, amongst others.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
painter of Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
Biography
He was born at RovatoRovato
Rovato is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is bounded by other communes of Cologne and Cazzago San Martino. It is located in Franciacorta ar the foot of Monte Orfano.-External links:**...
, in Brescian territory, and studied first under Fioravante Ferramola
Fioravante Ferramola
Fioravante Ferramola was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Brescia. He painted the portrait of Gaston de Foix in 1512. He frescoed an Annunciation for the church of the Carmine in Brescia, and also painted for the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Brescia.-Source:...
. Others state he trained with Vincenzo Foppa
Vincenzo Foppa
Vincenzo Foppa was a Northern-Italian Renaissance painter.He was an elderly contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci. Born at Bagnolo Mella, near Brescia in the Republic of Venice, he settled in Pavia around 1456, serving the dukes of Milan and emerging as one of the most prominent Lombard painters....
. His brothers Pietro and Jacopo were also painters. The 1911 Britannica claims he apprenticed with Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and that Moretto modelled his earlier portrait-painting style on the Venetian style. On the other hand, the style also resembles that of Giorgione
Giorgione
Giorgione was a Venetian painter of the High Renaissance in Venice, whose career was cut off by his death at a little over thirty. Giorgione is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, though only about six surviving paintings are acknowledged for certain to be his work...
or late Bellini
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini, and his brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. He is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it...
. The 1911 Britannica also states that he conceived a great enthusiasm for Raphael, though he never traveled to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
; on the other hand, his classical serenity resembles that shown by Leonardo
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
and his followers in Lombardy such as, for example, Bramantino
Bramantino
Bartolomeo Suardi, best known as Bramantino , was an Italian painter and architect, mainly active in his native Milan.-Biography:...
. He may have consulted with his contemporary Girolamo Savoldo
Girolamo Savoldo
Girolamo Savoldo, also called Girolamo da Brescia was an Italian High Renaissance painter.-Biography:...
.
Moretto excelled more in sedate altarpieces than in narrative action, and more in oil-painting than in fresco, although he painted fine frescoes depicting the lollygagging daughters of Count Martinengo in one of the palaces near Brescia. In 1521, he worked with Girolamo Romanino in the Cappella del Sacramento in the old cathedral of Brescia, where Moretto completed a Last Supper, Elijah in the Desert, and a Fall of Manna. He was active during 1522-24 in Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
.
He painted alongside with Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto was a Northern Italian painter draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits...
at Santa Maria Maggiore in Brescia. Also in Brescia, he completed a Five Virgin Martyrs and his masterpiece, the Assumption of the Madonna for the church of San Clemente; a Coronation of the Madonna with four saints (c. 1525) for the church of Santi Nazaro e Celso; a St. Joseph for Santa Maria della Grazie; and a St Nicholas of Ban for Santa Maria de Miracoli. He collaborated with Floriano Ferramola in the decoration of the dome of the cathedral in Brescia.
In the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
, Vienna is a St Justina (once ascribed to Pordenone
Pordenone
Pordenone is a comune of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.The name comes from the Latin "Portus Naonis" meaning the port on the river Noncello - History :...
); in the Staedel Museum, Frankfort, the Madonna enthroned between Sts Anthony and Sebastian; in the Berlin Museum, a colossal Adoration of the Shepherds, and a large votive picture (one of the master's best) of the "Madonna and Child," with infant angels and other figures above the clouds, and below, amid a rich landscape, two priests; in the National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, St Bernardin and other saints and two impressive portraits.
Throughout his career his works display an internal oscillation between the traditions of the Venetian
Venetian school (art)
-Context:In the 15th century Venetian painting developed through influences from the Paduan School and Antonello da Messina, who introduced the oil painting technique of Early Netherlandish painting. It is typified by a warm colour scale and a picturesque use of colour...
and Central Italian schools. Simultaneously he looked at the form and colour of Venetian artists such as Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
and Palma Vecchio
Palma Vecchio
Palma Vecchio , born Jacopo Palma or known as Jacopo Negretti, was an Italian painter of the Venetian school born at Serina Alta near Bergamo...
(1480–1528) whilst his classicising, sweet intensity earned him the name 'Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
of Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
'. Though there is some uncertainty regarding his studio, he took on a number of pupils the most important of whom was the portraitist Giovanni Battista Moroni
Giovanni Battista Moroni
Giovanni Battista Moroni was a North Italian painter of the Late Renaissance period. He is also called Giambattista Moroni...
(c.1520-1578).
Il Moretto is stated to have been a man of great personal piety, preparing himself by prayer and fasting for any great act of sacred art, such as the painting of the Virgin-mother. His dated works extend from 1524 to 1554, and he taught the portrait-painter Giambattista Moroni. He also influenced Callisto Piazza
Callisto Piazza
Callisto Piazza was an Italian painter.-Biography:Callisto, a member of the Piazza family of painters, was born in Lodi, Lombardy....
.
Public collections
Moretto is represented in the following collections: National Gallery, LondonNational Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
; Metropolitan Museum, New York; Hermitage
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
, St. Petersburg; Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
, Vienna; Staedel Museum, Frankfurt; Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice; Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo
Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo
The Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo is a public art collection in Brescia, Lombardy, northern Italy, exhibiting mainly paintings by local artists from the 13th through 18th centuries....
, Brescia; Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan; National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, Washington; Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, Oxford; Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, amongst others.