Bassano, Jacopo

Bassano, Jacopo (yä`kōpō bäs-sä`nō), c.1515–1592, Venetian painter, whose original name was Jacopo, or Giacomo, da Ponte, b. Bassano, Italy. Bassano first studied with his father, Francesco da Ponte, and then went to Venice. There he was influenced by Titian and Lorenzo Lotto, but he soon evolved a more turbulent mannerist style. Returning to Bassano c.1540, he established a thriving workshop producing works primarily on biblical themes. Into his paintings, which were characterized by a dramatic intensity, he introduced vignettes of country life. He was among the first Italian painters to depict animals, farmhouses, and landscapes. Jacopo's works include Jacob's Return to Canaan (Ducal Palace, Venice); Dives and Lazarus (Cleveland Mus.); Acteon and the Nymphs (Art Inst., Chicago); Annunciation to the Shepherds (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.).

Of Jacopo's four sons, his most worthy followers were

Francesco Bassano, 1549–92, whose biblical and pastoral scenes were similar in style to his father's, and

Leandro Bassano, 1558–1623, who painted altarpieces and portraits as well as pastoral genre. The Cleveland Museum of Art has his Pietà.

Bibliography

See study of Jacopo Bassano by P. Zampetti (tr. 1958).

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Bassano, Jacopo

 orig. Jacopo da Ponte

(born c. 1517, Bassano, republic of Venice—died Feb. 13, 1592, Bassano) Italian painter. He was the most celebrated member of a family of artists from the small town of Bassano, near Venice, where he worked for most of his life. He trained with Bonifacio de' Pitati in Venice and was influenced by other Venetian painters. He became known for his late Renaissance-style works depicting biblical themes, lush landscapes, and rustic scenes. Four painter sons continued the Bassano workshop tradition: Francesco (1549–92) and Leandro (1557–1622), both of whom were part of the workshop's Venetian branch, Giovanni Battista (1553–1613), and Gerolamo (1566–1621). Many products of the workshop were collaborative efforts.

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Bassano, Jacopo 

(pseudonym of J. da Ponte). Born circa 1517–18, in Bassano, Veneto; died there Feb. 13, 1592. The most important representative of a family of Italian painters of the Renaissance, which belonged to the Venetian school.

The influences of Mannerism were combined with democratic tendencies in Bassano’s creative work. In his religious canvases, he introduced scenes from the daily life of peasants, depictions of animals, and still lifes. By filling his compositions with dynamic rhythms and with the heightened effects of evening and night illumination, Bassano imparted a dramatic coloration to his images. His works include Christ at Emmaus (Parish Church, Cittadella), Adoration of the Shepherds (1568) and Baptism of St. Lucilla (both in the Municipal Museum, Bassano), Rest on the Flight into Egypt (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan), and Annunciation to the Shepherds (National Gallery of Art, Washington).

REFERENCES

Smirnova, I. A. “Iakopo Bassano i nekotorye voprosy razvitiia bytovogo zhanra v ital’ianskoi zhivopisi XVI veka.” In the collection Ot epokhi Vozrozhdeniia kdvadtsatomu veku. Moscow, 1963.
Zampetti, P. Jacopo Bassano (album). Rome, 1958. (In English.)