It is always a pleasure when artists mentioned in previous posts a few years ago are rediscovered or get a new exhibit dedicated to them. This is the case with Italian painter Giovanni Battista Moroni, currently celebrated in a recently opened exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, in London. This is actually the first comprehensive exhibition in the UK dedicated to the Italian 16th century portraitist.
Born between 1521 and 1524 in Albino, near Bergamo, from architect Francesco Moroni and Maddalena di Vitale Brigati, Giovanni Battista Moroni trained under Alessandro Bonvicino also known as "Il Moretto". Moroni was already working as a painter in 1547 in Trent, Bergamo and Albino, though he ran out of favour in the 1560s when the powerful Albani family from Bergamo fell from grace. Unable to portray noblemen and women, Moroni focused around this time on people of modest social conditions, such as a tailor, an Albanian merchant, a farmer and the captain of a mercenary army. When his previous patron Gian Gerolamo Albani became cardinal, Moroni found back his luck. He died in 1579 while working on a Last Judgment in the church of Gorlago.
Moroni was known for his skilfully executed and composed portraits in which sitters stare at the spectator with directness: while the artist's brushstrokes were extremely precise in detailing his sitters' rich garments, fabrics and accessories, Moroni also looked for deeper human truths in his characters. While offering a realistic representation of the Bergamo society, Moroni's focused on equally capturing in a powerful way the exact likeness of his sitters and their inner lives; the firm gaze of his elegant sitters hints indeed at the intelligence of the person portrayed, but also at his or her integrity.
Warm tones prevail so much in his paintings (pay attention at the vivid and bright red and pink nuances that often sparkle over neutral tones such as grey and black) that Moroni is usually considered by art critics as a colourist.
Il sarto (The Tailor, 1565 circa) remains his most famous painting: Moroni's portrait shows a man at work, but the expression in the tailor's eyes could be the same expression of a man of letters pondering about life or of a knight challenging the viewer to a duel (the tailor holds the scissors, but he could he holding a sword...). Moroni's tailor has indeed cultural and moral dignity, elements represented by his pose, composure and clothes. As a consequence, The Tailor became in later years a sort of symbol for all craftsmen conceived not just as artisans but also as artists, representing the future middle classes and showing people that class and power could be combined together in a subversive and refreshing way.
Vital and alert gazes prevail in most of his portraits: an elderly man - probably Gian Gerolamo Albani, expert in canon and civil law - with a long beard and wearing a luxurious coat lined with lynx, leaves the leather-bound volume he has been reading to stare inquisitively at the viewer; while Isotta Brembati in a rather elaborate dress accessorised with a necklace (not to mention the white and pink feather fan contrasting with the her dark brocade dress...), has an intense look in her eyes that evokes Brembati's thoughtful mind and profound intelligence.
Architectural elements appear here and there in the paintings, together with books and manuscripts: Moroni's figures stand at times beside a grey pillar, a marble wall, a tiled floor or classical ruins, features that highlight his acute observation skills.
In A Gentleman in Adoration before the Baptism of Christ (c.1555-60, from the private collection of fashion couple Girolamo and Roberta Etro), Moroni pays homage to his donor by portraying him in the foreground, his silhouette highlighted by the stone architecture behind him, while in the background, surrounded by a mountainous landscape, the sacred drama of the Baptism is taking place. This division of the painting in two different sections transforms the work into two separate tales, giving the impression to the viewer that the donor may start moving around the painting and go and watch the sacred scene from another position.
The exhibition - arranged in a chronological order to follow the evolution of Moroni's career - presents the artist also as a religious painter through never-before exhibited altarpieces from the churches of Bergamo and paintings made for private devotion. The attention to reality and psychological introspection that characterised his portraits are transferred onto his religious paintings and subjects, all of them portrayed in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation. Some critics talk indeed about "religious realism" when describing Moroni's religious representations and compositions. Visitors will be able to judge by themselves if this definition fits the paintings on display, but - one thing is for sure - they will find it difficult to escape the inquisitive gaze of some of Moroni's sitters.
Giovanni Battista Moroni, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK, until 25th January 2015.
Image credits for this post
Giovanni Battista Moroni
The Tailor, 1565-70
Oil on canvas, 99.5 x 77 cm
The National Gallery, London
Photo c. The National Gallery, London
Giovanni Battista Moroni
Young Lady, c.1560-65
Oil on canvas, 51 x 42 cm
Private collection
Photo: Private collection
Giovanni Battista Moroni
Isotta Brembati, c.1555
Oil on canvas, 160 x 115 cm
Fondazione Museo di Palazzo Moroni - Lucretia Moroni Collection, Bergamo.
Photo Fondazione Museo di Palazzo Moroni - Lucretia Moroni Collection, Bergamo. Photography: Marco Mazzoleni.
Giovanni Battista Moroni
Gian Girolamo Albani, c.1570
Oil on canvas, 107 x 75 cm
Private Collection
Photo: Private collection
Giovanni Battista Moroni
Gian Gerolamo Grumelli, c. 1560
Oil on canvas, 216 x 123 cm
Fondazione Museo di Palazzo Moroni - Lucretia Moroni Collection, Bergamo.
Photo Fondazione Museo di Palazzo Moroni - Lucretia Moroni Collection, Bergamo. Photography: Marco Mazzoleni.
Giovanni Battista Moroni
A Gentleman in Adoration before the Baptism of Christ, c.1555-60
Oil on canvas, 112.8 x 104 cm
Girolamo and Roberta Etro
Photo: Girolamo and Roberta Etro
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