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)