Laura De Zuani
University of Padua, Italy
This essay presents the painter Bartolomeo Montagna (1452–1523), founder of the Renaissance vicentine school of painting. He was born in Orzinuovi (a small town near Brescia, in Lombardia) and lived in Vicenza. This essay starts from his early production side by side with Gianfrancesco Somaio, to the direct comparison with Venetian innovations, introduced by Giovanni Bellini. Bartolomeo Montagna met the Venetian master during two journeys to Venice between 1469 and 1483. Looking at his eighties production, bounded to the Venetian experience and to Antonello da Messina’s heritage, the report focuses on the complex links between Bartolomeo Montagna, the inlayer Pierantonio degli Abati and the architect Lorenzo da Bologna. The collaboration between these three artists started with the construction of the Vicentine church of San Bartolomeo and then it developed thanks to the most important artistic workshops in Padua at the end of the century. The first years of the painter are examined through archival documents and stylistic analysis, in order to make new hypothesis on his patrons. After explaining the complex cultural contributions matched by the painter, this paper deals with a particular case: a signed and dated painting (1487) wich does not fit this date.
New hypothesis will be suggested regarding the subject (Virgin and Child with Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch), the date and the unusual position of the inscription (on the back), trying to find a more suitable place for this painting in Montagna’s artistic career. A new document, regarding Montagna’s masterpiece in San Bartolomeo, recently brought to light by the Italian archivist Manuela Barausse, will also be helpful in this way. The essay will finally show how an apparently well-defined case will lead to a long journey, in order to comprehend the meaning of his creation.