BASSANO, Jacopo da

(c. 1510-1592)

One of the least well known of the important artists of Venetian painting, Jacopo da Bassano played a role in the renewal of painting in the Veneto in the second half of the sixteenth century. From Bassano, Italy, Jacopo grew up in his father's art workshop. In 1533 he visited Venice, where he remained im­pressed by the art of Bonifacio de' Pitati, in whose shop he worked, and by Titian's* paintings, as evidenced by the forms and rapid and fluid brushwork visible in Jacopo's art. Instead of remaining in Venice, Jacopo preferred to pursue his painting career in the provincial town of Bassano. But Jacopo's in­terest in the art of other painters and the prints of their work he collected kept him from an isolated rural mentality, and his art shows an awareness of the developments in northern Europe and in central Italy, in particular the art of Raphael.* By 1541 Jacopo received government support in the form of an ex­emption from paying city taxes because of the excellence of his art. His Ado­ration of the Shepherds (1546, London, Hampton Court) combines a certain naturalism with finely drawn, graceful, and attenuated figures of Mannerist de­scent.

Throughout his career, Jacopo experimented while remaining sensitive to many artistic currents. In the 1560s he combined his loose brushwork with a deeper interest in coloristic, luminous, and chiaroscuro effects. For his later bucolic visions of country life and rustic biblical subjects, often portrayed as nocturnal scenes, Jacopo harmonized a pastoral simplicity and emphasis on genre details with a sophisticated artifice. With the help of his sons, he led an incredibly productive workshop. Remaining apart from the Venetian art scene, his special brand of rustic poetry that balanced mannerist stylism, observation of nature, and expressive brushstroke found favor in Venice and the surrounding countryside both among collectors and artists.

Bibliography

B. L. Brown and P. Marini, eds., Jacopo Bassano, c. 1510-1592, exhibition catalog, 1993.

Mary Pixley