Palma Giovane - painter

Mannerist took the mantle of Tintoretto 

Jacopo Negretti, the Venetian artist better
known as Palma Giovane

The Venetian artist Jacopo Negretti, best known as Jacopo Palma il Giovane - Palma the Younger - or simply Palma Giovane, died in Venice on this day in 1628.

Essentially a painter of the Italian Mannerist school, Palma Giovane's style evolved over time and after the death of Tintoretto in 1594 he became the most revered artist in Venice.

He became in demand beyond Venice, too, particularly in Bergamo, the city in Lombardy that was a dominion of Venice, and in central Europe.  He received many commissions in Bergamo and was often employed in Prague by the Habsburg Emperor, Rudolph II, who was a noted art connoisseur.

Palma had been born into a family of painters. His great uncle, also called Jacopo, was the painter Palma Vecchio - Palma the Elder - while his father, Antonio Negretti, was a pupil of the elder Palma’s workshop manager, Bonifacio Veronese, whose shop and clientele he inherited after the latter’s death.

The younger Palma is said to have developed his skills making copies in the style of Titian, although the claim in some biographies that he worked in Titian's workshop in Venice is now thought to be incorrect. What is not disputed is that when Titian died, in 1576, Palma was entrusted with finishing his last work, the Pietà, in the Accademia in Venice.

In 1567, Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, had recognised Palma’s talents and sponsored him to further his education in Rome, where he remained until about 1572.

Palma Giovane's 1620 Lamentation of Christ,
at the National Gallery of Art in Washington

On his return to Venice, Palma received his first major public commission, to paint three scenes in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio of the Doge’s Palace following a fire there in 1577.

Mannerism, from the Italian word maniera, meaning style, is characterised by frequently complex figures with elongated features, often given exaggerated, unusual poses.  It is seen as a reaction to High Renaissance art, which emphasised proportion, balance and idealistic beauty.

By the mid-1580s Palma was incorporating Tintoretto’s versatile figure postures and echoes of Titian’s loose brushstrokes and emphasis on light.

Palma worked alongside Veronese and Tintoretto on the decorations in the Doge’s Palace, where he embraced the Venetian tradition. Some of his finest works were the cycles of large canvases he painted for schools or religious brotherhoods and for sacred buildings such as the sacristies of San Giacomo dall’Orio and the Gesuiti, the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista, and the Ospedaletto dei Crociferi.

His official commissions at the Doge's Palace included a magnificent portrait of Saint Pope Pius V, commissioned by the Bellanti Counts, an influential family in Tuscany.  The painting left Italy after being bought by Major-General Sir Robert Dick, the British soldier and collector, before being returned by Roberto Gagliardi, an Italian art dealer based in London, who purchased it at Bonham's for display at the Museum of Art he established at Chianciano, not far from Siena.

After his death at the age of 80, Palma was interred in the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, a traditional burial place of the doges.

The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo in
Venice, where Palma Giovane is buried

Travel tip:

The huge Gothic Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, where Palma Giovane is buried, is in the Castello district of Venice.  It is one of the largest churches in Venice and after the 15th century the funerals of all Doges took place there.  In all, it houses the tombs of 25 Doges.  There are many works by Veronese in the Chapel of the Rosary, as well as paintings elsewhere by Lorenzo Lotto and sculptures by Pietro Lombardo.  Outside is a statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, the Bergamo condottiero (mercenary) and a former captain-general of the Republic of Venice, by Andrea del Verrocchio.

Travel tip:

Several of Palma Giovane's works commissioned in Bergamo are on display at the Accademia Carrara, a magnificent palace just outside Bergamo's Città Alta that was built in the 18th century to house one of the richest private collections in Italy. Visitors can view works by the masters of the Venetian, Lombard and Tuscan Renaissances as well as great artists who came later, such as Lotto, Titian, Moroni, Rubens, Tiepolo, Guardi and Canaletto.  The gallery, in Piazza Giacomo Carrara, is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (10am to 7pm); Friday (10am to 12 noon) and Saturday and Sunday (10am to 8pm).

More reading:

Titian - giant of Renaissance art

Tintoretto - dyer's won whose work still adorns Venice

How Guardi captured the final glory years of the Venetian Republic

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Battle of Molinella

First time artillery played a major part in warfare

A scene from the Battle of Molinella depicted by the artist
Il Romanino in frescoes at Malpaga Castle, near Bergamo

An important battle in Italy’s history was fought on this day in 1467 at Molinella, near Bologna.

On one side were infantry and cavalry representing Venice and on the other side there was an army serving Florence.

It was the first battle in Italy in which artillery and firearms were used extensively, the main weapons being cannons fired by gunpowder that could launch heavy stone or metal balls.  The barrels were 10 to 12 feet in length and had to be cleaned following each discharge, a process that took up to two hours.

Leading the 14,000 soldiers fighting for Venice was the Bergamo condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni. He was working jointly with Ercole I d’Este from Ferrara and noblemen from Pesaro and Forlì.

A portrait of Bartolomeo Colleoni by the
Italian artist Cristofano dell'altissimo

Another condottiero, Federico da Montefeltro, led the army of 13,000 soldiers serving Florence in an alliance with Galeazzo Maria Sforza, ruler of the Duchy of Milan, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Giovanni II Bentivoglio, the ruler of Bologna.

Condottieri were professional military leaders hired by the Italian city-states to lead armies on their behalf.

The fighting took place between the villages of Riccardina and Molinella and so the event is also sometimes referred to as the Battle of Riccardina

It is not certain which side won, but as a result Colleoni abandoned his plans to conquer Milan. There were hundreds of casualties and it is thought up to 1,000 horses were killed.

The following year Pope Paul II managed to broker a peace between the two sides.

Travel tip:

Molinella is a small town to the north east of Bologna in Emilia Romagna and was of strategic importance because of its hilltop position between Bologna and Ferrara. It now has a railway station on the Bologna-Portomaggiore line.

Colleoni's castle at Malpaga, south of Bergamo

Travel tip:

Bartolomeo Colleoni spent the last years of his life living with his family at his castle in Malpaga to the south of Bergamo, which has frescoes depicting scenes from the Battle of Molinella that are attributed to the painter Il Romanino. The castle is open to the public at weekends between March and November.

More reading:

Colleoni the honourable condottiero

Da Montefeltro used earnings from war to sponsor the arts

(Photo of fresco by Giorces CC BY-SA 2.5it)
(Photo of Colleoni portrait by Sailko CC BY-SA 3.0)
(Photo of castle by Mercurioblu CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Bartolomeo Colleoni - soldier

Death of an ‘honourable’ Italian military leader

Bartolomeo Colleoni spent virtually the whole
of his military career in the service of Venice

Bergamo soldier Bartolomeo Colleoni, who became known for using his wealth to benefit people, died on this day in 1475.

Colleoni spent most of his life in the pay of the republic of Venice, defending his home city of Bergamo against invaders but also leading Venetian armies in other military action.

He is remembered as one of the most decent condottieri of his era, carrying out charitable works and agricultural improvements in Bergamo and the surrounding area when he was not involved in military campaigns.

Condottieri were the leaders of troops, who worked for the powerful ruling factions, often for high payments. 

Colleoni's rise to power is remarkable given his traumatic early years. He was born around 1400 in the small village of Solza , near Bergamo, to a family of minor local nobility. 

His childhood was violently disrupted when his father, Paolo, was murdered by his own cousins ​​during a bitter dispute over the family estate. 

Left with little inheritance, a teenage Colleoni realised that his only path to survival and advancement lay in the military. He began his martial training in Piacenza and launched his professional career as a soldier of fortune at the age of  just 15. 

Colleoni was unusual because he remained steadfast to one employer, the Republic of Venice, for most of his career. Bergamo was under the control of Venice between 1428 and 1797.

During a period of peace between Venice and Milan, Colleoni worked briefly for Milan but the rulers never fully trusted him and eventually he was arrested and imprisoned. On his release, he returned to work for Venice and subsequently stayed faithful to them.

Colleoni was blessed with a brilliant tactical mind, becoming one of the 15th century's most celebrated military strategists by revolutionising battlefield technology. He was a pioneer in the use of field artillery, successfully utilising light, highly mobile cannons positioned at the rear of his troops to break enemy lines. 

The equestrian statue of Colleoni in
Venice's Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo

This technical foresight secured major victories for the Venetian Republic at Brescia, Verona, and in the famous Battle of Molinella in 1467. Recognizing his irreplaceable strategic value, Venice officially appointed him Captain-General for life in 1455 and showered him with vast estates to ensure he would never sell his services to their rivals. 

Towards the end of his life he lived with his family at his castle, Castello di Malpaga, to the south of Bergamo, where he established a vibrant Renaissance court.

At Malpaga, he surrounded his family with prominent humanist scholars, poets, and artists. He also proudly displayed his infamous and bold coat of arms, which featured a literal pun on his surname - coglione, meaning testicles - a symbol he wore proudly as a badge of raw virility and courage.

Together with his wife, Tisbe Martinengo, Colleoni raised eight daughters. Because he lacked a male heir, the family name effectively ended with him, prompting his intense focus on cementing a lasting legacy through monumental architecture. 

He later turned his attention to designing a building to house his own tomb. This has given Bergamo’s Città Alta, the upper town, its most ornate and celebrated building, the Cappella Colleoni (Colleoni Chapel).

Bartolomeo Colleoni left money to Venice in his will with a request that a statue of himself be erected in Piazza San Marco after his death. As there was a rule that no monuments were allowed in the Piazza, the statue, made by Andrea del Verrocchio, was eventually placed opposite the Scuola di San Marco in Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

Closer to home, he used the immense wealth he earned from Venetian military contracts to finance major public infrastructure projects. Most notably, he spent a significant portion of his fortune restoring the ancient Roman baths at Trescore Balneario, transforming them into a functional site to benefit the health and wellbeing of local citizens. 

Upon his death on November 2, 1475, he also bequeathed a massive sum of 100,000 ducats to the Republic of Venice specifically to fund their ongoing campaigns against the Ottoman Empire, proving his civic devotion outlived his battlefield days. 

The Colleoni Chapel is
a Renaissance gem

Travel tip:

The Colleoni Chapel - Cappello Colleoni - is universally recognized as one of the finest masterpieces of Italian Renaissance architecture. Designed by architect Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, this striking mausoleum has often been compared to an intricate, oversized jewel box. Amadeo utilized a dazzling geometric facade of polychrome pink, white, and black marble lozenges, tyled to harmonise with the northern doorway of the adjacent Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The chapel's interior bridges Late Gothic craftsmanship and high-Baroque artistry. The central focus is Colleoni's magnificent two-tier marble sarcophagus, adorned with relief sculptures of biblical scenes and triumphantly surmounted by a towering, gilded wooden equestrian statue of the commander himself. True to his final wishes, the leader was laid to rest in the lower sarcophagus, where his remains still rest alongside a smaller tomb housing his beloved teenage daughter, Medea. The chapel's dome and lunettes showcase sweeping, vibrant frescoes painted centuries later by the Venetian master Giambattista Tiepolo. Woven into the wrought-iron gate is the Colleoni family coat of arms, which features a literal depiction of three testicles, coglione - a bawdy pun on his surname. Centuries of superstition dictate that rubbing this crest at midnight brings good luck and bravery, leaving that exact spot highly polished and brightly discoloured by millions of passing travellers.

The 'Doors of the Dead' in Via alla Rocca reflect
local superstitions around the souls of the dead

Travel tip:

November 2 is All Souls Day, or the Day of the Dead, in Italy, when people visit the graves of their loved ones. Many areas observe their own rituals and have special foods, such as the slightly macabre ossi dei morti (bones of the dead), which are traditional biscuits eaten on All Souls Day in the Veneto region. In northern Italy, some areas bake pan dei morti - a spiced biscuit-like cookie made with crushed amaretti, flour, sugar, egg whites, dried fruits, and spices. The same cultural obsession with death and superstition probably lies behind a distinct architectural phenomenon found in Bergamo's medieval Città Alta. Along the narrow, winding Via alla Rocca, the street that leads from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe to the Rocca di Bergamo, a former fortress, there are some unusual, narrow, pointed gothic doorways that have been completely bricked up. These are known as Le Porte del Morto - the Doors of the Dead. According to local tradition, the truth of which is disputed by some, these were secondary doors to residential buildings that were supposedly opened exclusively to carry out the coffin of a deceased family member. It was considered incredibly bad luck for the living and the dead to cross the same threshold. Once the body was taken out to the cemetery, the door was immediately walled up with bricks to physically and symbolically block the spirit of the deceased from finding its way back into the home. 

Also on this day:

293: The death of martyr San Giusto di Trieste

1418: The birth of builder and diarist Gaspare Nadi

1893: The birth of car designer Battista 'Pinin' Farina

1906: The birth of film director Luchino Visconti

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Sources & Further Reading

• Treccani.it: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 27: Colleoni, Bartolomeo
• Britannica.com: Bartolomeo Colleoni: Italian Mercenary, Military Leader & Strategist
• World Monuments Fund: The Restoration of the Bartolomeo Colleoni Monument, Venice
• VisitBergamo.net: The Colleoni Chapel (Cappella Colleoni) Architectural Profile & History
• Castello di Malpaga: Official Records of the Colleoni Estate and Renaissance Court
• Comune di Solza: Official Municipal Registry and Birthplace History of Bartolomeo Colleoni

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