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Moretto da Brescia
Alessandro Buonvicino detto il Moretto pittore.jpg
Portrait of Moretto da Brescia, by Carlo Ridolfi (1654)
Born
Alessandro Bonvicino

c. 1498
Rovato, Italy
Died December 1554
Nationality Italian
Known for Painting
Movement High Renaissance

Alessandro Bonvicino (born around 1498, died possibly December 22, 1554) was a famous Italian Renaissance painter. He is better known as Moretto or Il Moretto da Brescia. He mostly worked in his hometown of Brescia, Italy. Moretto was known for painting large pictures for church altars, called altarpieces. These paintings often showed calm and serious scenes.

He created many altarpieces for churches in and around Brescia. He also painted in other Italian cities like Bergamo, Milan, and Verona. Many of his works are still in the churches where he first painted them. Most of his paintings are on canvas, but some large ones are on wood panels. Only a few of his drawings still exist today.

Moretto also painted some important portraits. His painting Portrait of a Man (1526) in the National Gallery, London is special. It might be the first full-length portrait of a person in Italy. This was new because the man was a wealthy nobleman, not a king or prince. Moretto's student, Giovanni Battista Moroni, later became a very important portrait painter. Moroni used Moretto's style, especially the full-length format and backgrounds with columns.

Moretto was a respected and religious person in Brescia. He was a member of at least two important religious groups called confraternities.

Moretto's Life and Art

Alessandro Bonvicino was born in Rovato, a town near Brescia. He first studied art with Fioravante Ferramola. Some people think he might have also trained with Vincenzo Foppa. His brothers, Pietro and Jacopo, were also painters.

Moretto might have learned from the famous artist Titian in Venice. His early portraits look a bit like the Venetian style of Giorgione or Bellini. He also greatly admired Raphael, even though he never visited Rome. His calm and classic style also reminds people of Leonardo da Vinci and his followers in Lombardy. He may have also talked about art with his friend Girolamo Savoldo.

Moretto da Brescia 001b
St. Justina, adored by the donor
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Moretto was better at painting calm altarpieces than action scenes. He was also better at oil painting than frescoes (paintings on wet plaster). However, he did paint some beautiful frescoes for Count Martinengo in a palace near Brescia.

In 1521, he worked with Girolamo Romanino in the Old Cathedral of Brescia. There, Moretto painted scenes like Last Supper and Elijah in the Desert. He also worked in Padua between 1522 and 1524.

Moretto, pala rovelli
Nicholas of Bari with two children and Virgin.

Moretto also painted alongside Lorenzo Lotto at Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. In Brescia, he created many important works. These include Five Virgin Martyrs and his famous Assumption of the Madonna for the church of San Clemente. He also painted Coronation of the Madonna with four saints (around 1525) for the church of Santi Nazaro e Celso.

Another notable work is his painting of St Nicholas of Bari presenting two children to Virgin (1539). This painting, which shows two small children, was originally for the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. It is now in the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo museum. Moretto also helped decorate the dome of Brescia Cathedral with Floriano Ferramola.

Moretto da Brescia 006
Portrait of a Man, National Gallery, 1526, the earliest Italian full-length portrait

You can find Moretto's paintings in many famous museums around the world. For example, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna has his St Justina. The Staedel Museum in Frankfurt has Madonna Enthroned between Sts. Anthony and Sebastian. The Berlin Museum has a huge Adoration of the Shepherds. The National Gallery in London has St Bernardino and Other Saints.

Throughout his career, Moretto's art showed a mix of styles. He combined the traditions of Venetian painting with the styles from Central Italy. He looked at the colors and shapes used by Venetian artists like Titian. His calm and sweet style even earned him the nickname "Raphael of Brescia".

Moretto had several students, and the most important was Giovanni Battista Moroni, who became a famous portrait painter. Moretto also influenced another artist named Callisto Piazza.

People said that Moretto was a very religious man. He would pray and fast before painting important religious works, especially those of the Virgin Mary.

Where to See Moretto's Art

Moretto's paintings are in many public art collections around the world. Some of these include:

Some of Moretto's Paintings

  • Enthroned Madonna and Child with Saint James the Great and Saint Jerome (1517)
  • Christ with the Cross (1518)
  • The Dead Christ Adored by Saint Jerome and Saint Dorothy (1520–1521)
  • Holy Cross Standard (1520–1521)
  • Standard of Our Lady of Mercy (1520–1522)
  • Salvation Triptych (1521–1524 or 1527–1528)
  • Our Lady of Mount Carmel (around 1522)
  • Assumption of the Virgin (1524–1526)
  • Orzinuovi Altarpiece (1525–1530)
  • Portrait of a Man (1526)
  • Lament over the Dead Christ (1526–1530)
  • Sant'Eufemia Altarpiece (1526–1530)
  • Supper at Emmaus (around 1526)
  • Madonna and Child with Saint Roch and Saint Sebastian (around 1528)
  • Assumption Altarpiece (1529–1530)
  • St Anthony of Padua with Two Saints (1530)
  • Saint Anthony Abbot (1530–1534)
  • St Justina of Padua with a Donor (around 1530)
  • Madonna and Child with Saint Martin and Saint Catherine (around 1530)
  • Massacre of the Innocents (1531–1532)
  • Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece (around 1534)
  • The Deaf-Mute Filippo Viotti's Vision of the Virgin Mary (around 1534)
  • Annunciation (1535–1540)
  • The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr (1535–1540)
  • Portrait of a Gentleman with a Letter (1535–1540)
  • Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista Organ Case (around 1535)
  • Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (1536–1537)
  • Rovelli Altarpiece (1539)
  • Adoration of the Shepherds with Saints Nazarius and Celsus (1540)
  • Salomé (1540)
  • Madonna and Child with Saints (Verona, 1540)
  • Pralboino Altarpiece (1540–1545)
  • Christ in Glory with Saint Peter and Saint Paul (around 1540)
  • Christ with the Eucharist and Saints Cosmas and Damian (around 1540)
  • Madonna and Child with Four Doctors of the Church (around 1540–1545)
  • Madonna and Child with Saints (London, around 1540–1545)
  • Madonna and Child with an Angel (around 1540–1550)
  • Christ with Moses and Solomon (1541–1542)
  • Portrait of Fortunato Martinengo Cesaresco (1542)
  • Luzzago Altarpiece (1542)
  • Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (around 1543)
  • Pentecost (1543–1544)
  • Madonna and Child with Four Saints (around 1543)
  • Supper in the House of Simon the Pharisee (1544)
  • Portrait of an Ecclesiastic (around 1545)
  • Christ with the Eucharist and Saints Bartholomew and Roch (around 1545)
  • Christ and the Angel (around 1550)

Images for kids

  • Moretto da brescia cesaresco

    Portrait of Fortunato Martinengo Cesaresco, 1542, London, National Gallery

  • Bonvicino - Holy Family

    The Holy Family with Saint Anthony of Padua, oil on panel.

  • Portrait of Girolamo Savonarola 1524

    Posthumous portrait of Girolamo Savonarola 1524

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Moretto para niños

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