Moroni, Giovanni Battista

Moroni, Giovanni Battista (jōvän`nē bät-tē`stä mōrô`nē), c.1525–1578, Italian portrait painter of the Brescian school; pupil of Il Moretto. Surpassing his teacher in the ability to capture the expression of the model, Moroni excelled in portraying with tasteful intimacy the aristocratic men and women of his day. He depicted them realistically but with a Venetian flair for style. There are notable examples of his art in the National Gallery, London; the Metropolitan Museum; the Philadelphia Museum; and the Uffizi.

---

Moroni, Giovanni Battista 

Born circa 1525 in Albino, Lombardy; died Feb. 5, 1578, in Bergamo, Lombardy. Italian painter of the Brescian school.

Moroni was influenced by his teacher, A. Moretto, as well as by L. Lotto and Titian. Primarily a portrait painter, he was one of the first European masters of portraiture. His portraits, which were often life-size and painted with a restrained palette, are marked by incisive characterization, an unforced choice of attitude, and an absence of idealization (The Tailor, 1560’s, National Gallery, London).

REFERENCES

Smirnova, I. A. Titsian i venetsianskii portret 16 veka. Moscow, 1964. Pages 131–34.
Cugini, D. Moroni pittore. Bergamo, 1939.