Moretto da Brescia | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Moretto da Brescia, byCarlo Ridolfi (1654) | |
| Born | Alessandro Bonvicino c. 1498 Rovato, Italy |
| Died | December 1554 |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | High Renaissance |
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Alessandro Bonvicino (alsoBuonvicino) (c. 1498 – possibly 22 December 1554), more commonly known asMoretto, or in ItalianIl Moretto da Brescia (the Moor of Brescia), was anItalian Renaissance painter fromBrescia, where he also mostly worked. His dated works span the period from 1524 to 1554, but he was already described as a master in 1516. He was mainly a painter ofaltarpieces that tend towards sedateness, mostly for churches in and around Brescia, but also inBergamo,Milan,Verona, andAsola; many remain in the churches they were painted for. The majority of these are on canvas, but a considerable number, including some large pieces, are created on wood panels. There are only a few surviving drawings from the artist.[1]
He also painted a few portraits, but these are more influential. A full-lengthPortrait of a Man in theNational Gallery, London, dated 1526, seems to be the earliest Italian independent portrait at full length, all the more unexpected as the subject, though clearly a wealthy nobleman, shows no sign of being from a princely ruling family. This format, and the background of an exterior largely closed off by a column the man leans on, was taken up by his main assistantGiovanni Battista Moroni, who painted mainly portraits and was one of the most important portraitists of the mid-16th century.[2]
He was a prominent and pious citizen of the small city of Brescia, belonging to at least two of the most prominentconfraternities.[3]
He was born atRovato, in Brescian territory, and studied first underFioravante Ferramola.[4] Others state he trained withVincenzo Foppa. His brothers Pietro and Jacopo were also painters. He may have been apprenticed toTitian inVenice and modelled his earlier portrait-painting on the Venetian style.[5] On the other hand, the style also resembles that ofGiorgione or lateBellini. He conceived a great enthusiasm for Raphael, though he never travelled toRome;[5] on the other hand, his classical serenity resembles that shown byLeonardo and his followers in Lombardy such asBramantino.[6] He may have consulted with his contemporaryGirolamo Savoldo.[7]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 idle daughters of Count Martinengo in one of the palaces near Brescia.[4] In 1521, he worked withGirolamo Romanino in theCappella del Sacramento in theOld Cathedral of Brescia, where Moretto completed aLast Supper,Elijah in the Desert, and aFall of Manna.[7] He was active during 1522–1524 inPadua.
He painted alongsideLorenzo Lotto atSanta Maria Maggiore inBergamo. In Brescia, he completed aFive Virgin Martyrs and his masterpiece, theAssumption of the Madonna for the church ofSan Clemente; aCoronation of the Madonna with four saints (c. 1525) for the church ofSanti Nazaro e Celso; and aSt Joseph forSanta Maria delle Grazie. Moretto's most famous work is his canvas ofSt Nicholas of Bari presenting two children to Virgin, also known asThe Rovellio Altarpiece after its patron, (1539) originally painted for the church ofSanta Maria dei Miracoli, but now in thePinacoteca Tosio Martinengo. This painting contains an image of the Indian littoral in the semi-dome behind Saint Nicholas of Bari.[8] He collaborated withFloriano Ferramola in the decoration of the dome of Brescia Cathedral.
In theKunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna is aSt Justina (once ascribed toIl Pordenone); in theStaedel Museum, Frankfurt, theMadonna Enthroned between Sts. Anthony and Sebastian; in the Berlin Museum, a colossalAdoration of the Shepherds, and a large votive picture (one of the master's best) of theMadonna and Child, with infant angels and other figures above the clouds, and below, amid a rich landscape, two priests; in theNational Gallery,Central London, is aSt Bernardino and Other Saints.[4]Throughout his career his works display an internal oscillation between the traditions ofVenetian painting and the Central Italian schools. Simultaneously he looked at the form and colour of Venetian artists such asTitian andPalma the Elder whilst his classicising, sweet intensity earned him the name "Raphael ofBrescia". Though there is some uncertainty regarding his studio, he took on a number of pupils, the most important of whom was the portraitistGiovanni Battista Moroni. He also influencedCallisto Piazza.
Il Moretto was 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.[4]
Moretto is represented in the following collections:National Gallery, London;Metropolitan Museum, New York;Hermitage, St. Petersburg;Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna;Staedel Museum, Frankfurt;Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice;Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Brescia (Annunciation);Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan;National Gallery of Art, Washington;Louvre, Paris;Ashmolean Museum, Oxford;Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, amongst others.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Moretto, Il".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 831.
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