Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592)
Jacopo Bassano (also Jacopo dal Ponte) is the great unsung hero of Venetian Renaissance painting and
sits at the centre of a painting dynasty
He was the son of a painter and became the father of three himself
Bassano has had the misfortune of being overshadowed by the great triumvirate of Venetian painting;
Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto. This was in part due to the genius of these three artists, in part due to
Vasari's account of art history and in part due to the humility of Jacopo who refused to leave his birthplace
and worked out of his studio in the town of Bassano throughout his life
As a result of this, the cities, towns and villages around Bassano often contain altarpieces that he was
commissioned to produce. To experience an altarpiece in situ, in the church for which it was originally
intended is the correct way to view this art and forms a key part of the tour
Bassano was born during the High Renaissance and reached his maturity painting in the prevailing style
of the Venetian Renaissance tradition
Around 1540 the painters Salviati and Vasari visited Venice and precipitated a Mannerist 'experiment'
that lasted for twenty years
As one of the leading painters of the age Bassano painted in the new idiom but interestingly he was able
to vacillate quite comfortably between the new style (Mannarism) that had originated in Central Italy and
that of the local tradition
The Museo Civico in Bassano contains the greatest collection of his work in the world and demonstrates
his versatility in mastering a range of styles. Bassano's works hang in the world's greatest collections
alongside the acknowledged masters. Excellent examples of his work can be found in the National Gallery
in London, the Prado in Madrid and the Ashmoleam in Oxford
There are two achievements for which Bassano is credited and renowned, the development of the
introduction of the 'Northern Renaissance' landscape into Venetian art and his expertise in painting dogs
which was widely emulated
Selected Bibliography: Da Sesso, Jacopo Bassano, 1992
General Bibliography: Paoletti & Radke, Art in Renaissance Italy, 1997
Humfrey, Painting in Renaissance Venice, 1995
Levey, Early Renaissance, 1967
Levey, High Renaissance, 1975
Heffer & Kerr (eds.), Antonio Canova, 1992
Wundram & Pape, Andrea, Palladio, (1508-1580), 2008
Zampetti, Jacopo Bassano, 1958 (in Italian)