Carlo Corsato | National Gallery in London (original) (raw)
Videos by Carlo Corsato
The legacy of a talented art historian, the history of one of the most important churches in Rena... more The legacy of a talented art historian, the history of one of the most important churches in Renaissance Venice. (The Crociferi was later rebuilt as the Gesuiti - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Gesuiti,_Venice)
The e-book includes 2 additional essays:
- 'Titian's Martyrdom of St Lawrence and its Original Location in the Lost Venetian Church of Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi'
- Murder and Martyrdom: Titian's Gesuiti St Lawrence as a Family Peace Offering'
465pp. 206 high res illustrations
Published on 20/10/2020
Get your copy from Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4284460
FREE download (no fees or registrations required)
28 views
Books by Carlo Corsato
The Lost Venetian Church of Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi. Form, Decoration, Patronage, 2020
Free download from Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4284460 This book investigates the hist... more Free download from Zenodo
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4284460
This book investigates the history and decoration of one of the most important churches of Venice in the 16th century: Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi. Painters and sculptors of the stature of Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Palma il Giovane, Vittoria and Campagna all contributed major works of art, many of which survive in the present-day church of the Gesuiti.
Available in PDF format (e-book), this volume is the legacy of a talented art historian, Allison Sherman, who tragically passed away in 2017.
Includes 2 additional essays:
- 'Titian's Martyrdom of St Lawrence and its Original Location in the Lost Venetian Church of Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi'
- Murder and Martyrdom: Titian's Gesuiti St Lawrence as a Family Peace Offering'
465pp. 206 high res illustrations
Published on 20/10/2020
Edited with the help of Peter Humfrey, Rebecca Norris, Danielle Little, Freya Tyrell, Sharon Gregory and Sally Hickson.
This book is for Joan, Bruce and Andrew Sherman in loving memory of Allison Sherman.
This volume in the series Lives of the Artists collects the major writings about Titian (c. 1488-... more This volume in the series Lives of the Artists collects the major writings about Titian (c. 1488-1576) by his contemporaries and near contemporaries. The centrepiece is the biography by Vasari and includes the marginal annotations to Vasari by Annibale Carracci, which had never before published in English. The volume also presents for the full English translation of a selection of letters and poems by Pietro Aretino; Carlo Priscianese's full account of a dinner party with Titian, and the contributions by Speroni Speroni and Ludovico Dolce, round out the picture of this hugely thoughtful, intellectual artist, whose paintings remain some of the most sensual and affecting in all of Western art.
Mostly unavailable in any form for many years, these writings have been newly edited for this edition, including the identification of works and people mentioned in each text.
Born Jacopo Comin, Tintoretto (ca. 1519–1594) was one of the great painters of the late Renaissan... more Born Jacopo Comin, Tintoretto (ca. 1519–1594) was one of the great painters of the late Renaissance. This book presents the first biographies of Tintoretto, by Giorgio Vasari and Carlo Ridolfi, as well as accounts from individuals who knew the artist personally. This volume also includes a translation of the marginal notes El Greco wrote in his copy of Vasari’s Life of Tintoretto, which have never before been published.
Richly illustrated, with an introduction that reconstructs Tintoretto’s career and contextualises the contemporary sources, Lives of Tintoretto includes the identification of the works and people mentioned in the early accounts of this influential Renaissance artist.
Artibus et Historiae, 78 (XXXIX), 2018
Santa Maria Gloriosa de’ Frari is one of the best-loved and most celebrated churches in Venice, r... more Santa Maria Gloriosa de’ Frari is one of the best-loved and most celebrated churches in Venice, renowned for its imposing Gothic architecture and its rich display of works of art, but it is in no sense a museum. Founded as the principal church of the Conventual Franciscan order in Venice, the church has been the setting for ritual, sacred music, prayer and preaching ever since the Middle Ages. This book presents the rich and varied history of the church in a new light. This is neither a guide book nor a catalogue of the works of art. Instead, it is the first true monograph on the Frari, whose role included charitable and educational functions as well as devotional life. Spanning eight centuries, the book explores the lives of the friars, worshippers, local residents and artists, both within its walls and round about. A profusion of new colour photographs offers the reader the chance to appreciate many details that have never before attracted attention.
The book considers the Frari in the context of the immediate neighbourhood and its local concerns and activities. The present church was begun in 1328, and the Franciscans continued to occupy its spacious cloisters until the Napoleonic suppression in 1806, which led to their banishment for more than a century. At this point, the church became the centre of a parish, incorporating the nearby areas of San Tomà and San Polo. Meanwhile, Titian’s famous Assunta, one of the masterpieces of Venetian Renaissance painting, was removed from the high altar, to be displayed for nearly a hundred years in the galleries of the Accademia. The altarpiece was not returned to the church until 1920, just two years before the return of the Franciscans. Remarkably, the complete list of the Franciscan guardians and parish priests survives back to 1241 and is included in the book.
The twenty-three chapters guide the reader through this complex history, allowing a new appreciation of the works of art, whether familiar or little known, in terms of their meaning and devotional function. The patronage of chapels by prominent families, and by immigrant communities such as the Milanese and Florentines, has enhanced the rich variety of painting and sculpture. The role of women patrons is highlighted in several cases. The book examines the importance of relics as the focus of local devotion, and explores the role of the local confraternities (scuole) in the ceremonial and music.
An important aspect of the Frari was the commemoration of prominent individuals, whose tombs and monuments adorn the walls and floor of the church. Doges, military leaders, bishops, artists, musicians and businessmen found their last resting place within its walls. Because of its size and beauty, the church has played a major part in the lives of local residents, and the memorials enshrined within have inspired generations of Venetians and visitors alike. This uniquely interdisciplinary book contains a wealth of new material and insights into this long and complex institutional history.
La letteratura artistica seicentesca ha posto i fondamenti teorici per la suddivisione in generi ... more La letteratura artistica seicentesca ha posto i fondamenti teorici per la suddivisione in generi delle diverse categorie iconografiche di cui la pittura si compone. Questa classificazione da allora è entrata nell’uso comune e nel linguaggio dell’arte in modo talmente pervasivo da farla sembrare connaturata all’arte stessa; è implicitamente passato in secondo piano il fatto che, come ogni fenomeno culturale, anche i generi pittori ci hanno un loro momento d’inizio che ne condizionò la definizione e l’identità. Dove rintracciare, dunque, le origini di questo fenomeno?
Il tema, ricco e affascinante, costituisce il cuore di questo volume, frutto dello sforzo collettivo di un gruppo di studiosi che hanno condiviso e confrontato differenti metodologie e background di ricerca.
Gli otto casi studio, muovendosi tra Venezia, Roma, Colonia, Francoforte e Anversa, mettono a fuoco al- cune delle principali tematiche collegate allo sviluppo della pittura europea a cavallo tra ’500 e ’600: dalle pra- tiche di bottega e la specializzazione degli artisti, alla professionalizzazione mercantile dei pittori e alle loro connessioni con i mercanti, senza dimenticare alcune ben note tipologie pittoriche, dai cabinet paintings (o quadri da stanza) ai paesaggi affrescati, fino a una nuova ridefinizione visiva della pittura devozionale.
Book Chapters by Carlo Corsato
in Titian. Love, Desire, Death, exhibition cat. (London, The National Gallery), ed. Matthias Wievel, London, 2020, 2020
This essay summarises conclusions from research I have been carrying on Titian's wealth and his s... more This essay summarises conclusions from research I have been carrying on Titian's wealth and his sons. Full publication is currently in preparation (Feb. 2021). Detailed discussion and explanation of Leone Leioni's attack against Orazio Vecellio will be presented in a separate publication, currently in preparation (Feb. 2021).
Letters edited and annotated by Thomas Dalla Costa and Carlo Corsato.
Translation of texts from Italian to English (i.e. letters by Titian and Orazio Vecellio) by Livia Lupi with the help of Carlo Corsato, Thomas Dalla Costa and Matthias Wivel.
Translation of texts from Spanish to English (i.e. letters by Philip II) by Laura Suffield. Excerpt from Philip II's letter to the Duke of Sessa (p. 196) was translated from Spanish by Carlo Corsato
Artibus & Historiae, 2018
Artibus et Historiae no. 78 (XXXIX) Art and Culture North and South of the Alps from the Fifteent... more Artibus et Historiae no. 78 (XXXIX)
Art and Culture North and South of the Alps from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Essays in Honour of Bernard Aikema - Guest editors: Carlo Corsato and Juliette Ferdinand
The essay analyses the Louvre Crucifixion by Paolo Veronese (c. 1575–1580) and aims to clarify th... more The essay analyses the Louvre Crucifixion by Paolo Veronese (c. 1575–1580) and aims to clarify the presence and significance of the woman cloaked in yellow in the middle of the composition. Alternatively identified with the personification of the Synagogue, Mary Magdalen, or one of the three Marys, the veiled figure recurred frequently in representations of different moments of the Passion of Christ from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, including a number of works by Veronese himself. A study of this visual tradition explains how Veronese arranged the Louvre composition to be observed from a specific viewing angle. When contemplated from the right-hand side, the image reveals how the woman robed in yellow, none other than one of the Marys, has the function of guiding viewers through a spiritual journey from the suffering of the Virgin to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
El Renacimiento en Vencia. Triunfo de la belleza y destrucción de la pintura. Ed. Fernando Checa , 2017
Short historical reconstruction of life and work of the Bassano family, incl. Francesco Sr., Jaco... more Short historical reconstruction of life and work of the Bassano family, incl. Francesco Sr., Jacopo, Giambattista Sr., Francesco Jr., Giambattista Jr., Leandro and Girolamo.
Unpublished materials include:
- Birth records of Jacopo's children: Francesco Alessandro, Francesco Giambattista, Giambattista, Leandro, Girolamo
- The Penitent Magdalen (Accademia Carrara, Bergamo), correctly attributed to Francesco Bassano
in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Devotional Spaces, Images of Piety, 2015
È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia,... more È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad uso interno o didattico, non autorizzata. The photocopying of any pages of this publication is illegal. 2 The Franciscan order seems to have initiated the tradition of the presepio or Christmas crib. See ROSALIND BROOKE, The Image of St Francis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, pp. 309-310. 3 The Archivio di Stato was installed in the former friary on 13 December 1815. 4 The relationship between architecture, music and devotional life is explored in DEBORAH HOWARD -LAURA MORETTI, Sound and Space in Renaissance Venice: Architecture, Music, Acoustics, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 2009, pp. 79-94. 5 UMBERTO FRANZOI -DINA DI STEFANO, Le chiese di Venezia, Alfieri, Venice 1976, p. 46; see also CARLO CORSATO -RENATA MARZI in this volume.
in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Devotional Spaces, Images of Piety, 2015
È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia,... more È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad uso interno o didattico, non autorizzata. The photocopying of any pages of this publication is illegal.
in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Devotional Spaces, Images of Piety, 2015
È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia,... more È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad uso interno o didattico, non autorizzata. The photocopying of any pages of this publication is illegal. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari : immagini di devozione, spazi della fede = devotional spaces, images of Piety / a cura di = edited by Carlo Corsato, Deborah Howard. -Padova : Centro Studi Antoniani, 2015. -XXVIII, 324 p., [128] carte di tav. : ill. ; 24 cm. (Centro Studi Antoniani ; 56) ISBN 978-88-95908-00-7 I : Corsato, Carlo II : Howard, Deborah 1 : Venezia -Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari 726.50945311 -Ed. 22.
in De l'authenticité. Une histoire des valeurs de l'art (XVIe - XXe siècle), ed. Charlotte Guichard, 2014
Zel Edizioni, Treviso, 2013
Artistic specialization constitutes the founding principle of the classification per pictorial ge... more Artistic specialization constitutes the founding principle of the classification per pictorial genres. Around 1600 it was Karel van Mander (1604) who on the base of XVIth-century historiographical models may have been the first to register how each artist’s individual character is based both on his innate, individual predisposition and the technical variety at his disposal. This thesis can be perfectly illustrated by the The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man, painted conjointly by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens. Brilliantly integrating narrative scenes into landscape, the two great artists transformed the traditional iconography of The Fall of Man into a new pictorial category (“genre”), which preludes to thematic specialization and to pictorial genres. Venetian painting, more in particular of Jacopo Bassano and Titian, offers a model for this iconographical manipulation, in line with Van Mander’s idea. In the writings of Federico Borromeo and Roberto Bellarmino one finds a cultural reference system for the reception of this new kind of devotional painting. The symbols of Nature and the Holy Scripture in particular offer the observer new keys to understand Salvation. In line with neo-stoic philosophy – familiar to both artists –, one might even propose a political reading of the picture in reference to the Twelve-Years-Truce (1609-1621).
in 'Crocifissi lignei a Venezia e nei territori della Serenissima, 1350 - 1500: modelli, diffusione, restauro', 2013
Likeness and imitation represent the 'corforming' and the 'getting conformed' to a model. The two... more Likeness and imitation represent the 'corforming' and the 'getting conformed' to a model. The two concepts constitute the core methodology of the history of art, for scholars are enabled to group works of art according to their stylist and technical similarities. In particular, the l5th century woodcarved Crucifixes show how likeness and imitation are essential to enact devotional practice. In fact, the picture of the Christ's death on the cross imitates its ideal model (the actual historical event) and so doing assist the pious beholder to see Christ face to face. In other words Crucifix makes visible the divinity of God that it is intended to be invisible. The artistic creation thus gets conformed to the divine creation, for the woodcarver is capable to reify God into a religious picrure. The 14th and 15th century literature provides explicit reference of the concepts of likeness and imitation to the devotional practice.
Papers by Carlo Corsato
From Dal Ponte to Bassano. The Legacy of Jacopo, the Shops of His Sons and the Artistic Identity ... more From Dal Ponte to Bassano. The Legacy of Jacopo, the Shops of His Sons and the Artistic Identity of Michele Pietra, 1578–1656. The article reconstructs the history, evolution and organisation of the Bassano workshops across the broad span of their existence from 1578 to 1656. Careful historical reconstruction has outlined the profiles of four workshops on the basis of documents, many of which were hitherto unknown and/or unpublished. The first bottega, directed in Bassano by Jacopo, was supplemented by parallel, yet interconnected, enterprises that were established in Venice by his sons Francesco (1578–1592) and Leandro (1587–1621). Upon Jacopo’s death, his other two sons, Giambattista and Girolamo, took over the family business (1592–1606), whose commercial position was progressively supported and improved as a result of Leandro’s leadership in the Venetian art market. Francesco died only a few months after his father and his shop was inherited by and divided among his three brothe...
The legacy of a talented art historian, the history of one of the most important churches in Rena... more The legacy of a talented art historian, the history of one of the most important churches in Renaissance Venice. (The Crociferi was later rebuilt as the Gesuiti - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Gesuiti,_Venice)
The e-book includes 2 additional essays:
- 'Titian's Martyrdom of St Lawrence and its Original Location in the Lost Venetian Church of Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi'
- Murder and Martyrdom: Titian's Gesuiti St Lawrence as a Family Peace Offering'
465pp. 206 high res illustrations
Published on 20/10/2020
Get your copy from Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4284460
FREE download (no fees or registrations required)
28 views
The Lost Venetian Church of Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi. Form, Decoration, Patronage, 2020
Free download from Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4284460 This book investigates the hist... more Free download from Zenodo
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4284460
This book investigates the history and decoration of one of the most important churches of Venice in the 16th century: Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi. Painters and sculptors of the stature of Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Palma il Giovane, Vittoria and Campagna all contributed major works of art, many of which survive in the present-day church of the Gesuiti.
Available in PDF format (e-book), this volume is the legacy of a talented art historian, Allison Sherman, who tragically passed away in 2017.
Includes 2 additional essays:
- 'Titian's Martyrdom of St Lawrence and its Original Location in the Lost Venetian Church of Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi'
- Murder and Martyrdom: Titian's Gesuiti St Lawrence as a Family Peace Offering'
465pp. 206 high res illustrations
Published on 20/10/2020
Edited with the help of Peter Humfrey, Rebecca Norris, Danielle Little, Freya Tyrell, Sharon Gregory and Sally Hickson.
This book is for Joan, Bruce and Andrew Sherman in loving memory of Allison Sherman.
This volume in the series Lives of the Artists collects the major writings about Titian (c. 1488-... more This volume in the series Lives of the Artists collects the major writings about Titian (c. 1488-1576) by his contemporaries and near contemporaries. The centrepiece is the biography by Vasari and includes the marginal annotations to Vasari by Annibale Carracci, which had never before published in English. The volume also presents for the full English translation of a selection of letters and poems by Pietro Aretino; Carlo Priscianese's full account of a dinner party with Titian, and the contributions by Speroni Speroni and Ludovico Dolce, round out the picture of this hugely thoughtful, intellectual artist, whose paintings remain some of the most sensual and affecting in all of Western art.
Mostly unavailable in any form for many years, these writings have been newly edited for this edition, including the identification of works and people mentioned in each text.
Born Jacopo Comin, Tintoretto (ca. 1519–1594) was one of the great painters of the late Renaissan... more Born Jacopo Comin, Tintoretto (ca. 1519–1594) was one of the great painters of the late Renaissance. This book presents the first biographies of Tintoretto, by Giorgio Vasari and Carlo Ridolfi, as well as accounts from individuals who knew the artist personally. This volume also includes a translation of the marginal notes El Greco wrote in his copy of Vasari’s Life of Tintoretto, which have never before been published.
Richly illustrated, with an introduction that reconstructs Tintoretto’s career and contextualises the contemporary sources, Lives of Tintoretto includes the identification of the works and people mentioned in the early accounts of this influential Renaissance artist.
Artibus et Historiae, 78 (XXXIX), 2018
Santa Maria Gloriosa de’ Frari is one of the best-loved and most celebrated churches in Venice, r... more Santa Maria Gloriosa de’ Frari is one of the best-loved and most celebrated churches in Venice, renowned for its imposing Gothic architecture and its rich display of works of art, but it is in no sense a museum. Founded as the principal church of the Conventual Franciscan order in Venice, the church has been the setting for ritual, sacred music, prayer and preaching ever since the Middle Ages. This book presents the rich and varied history of the church in a new light. This is neither a guide book nor a catalogue of the works of art. Instead, it is the first true monograph on the Frari, whose role included charitable and educational functions as well as devotional life. Spanning eight centuries, the book explores the lives of the friars, worshippers, local residents and artists, both within its walls and round about. A profusion of new colour photographs offers the reader the chance to appreciate many details that have never before attracted attention.
The book considers the Frari in the context of the immediate neighbourhood and its local concerns and activities. The present church was begun in 1328, and the Franciscans continued to occupy its spacious cloisters until the Napoleonic suppression in 1806, which led to their banishment for more than a century. At this point, the church became the centre of a parish, incorporating the nearby areas of San Tomà and San Polo. Meanwhile, Titian’s famous Assunta, one of the masterpieces of Venetian Renaissance painting, was removed from the high altar, to be displayed for nearly a hundred years in the galleries of the Accademia. The altarpiece was not returned to the church until 1920, just two years before the return of the Franciscans. Remarkably, the complete list of the Franciscan guardians and parish priests survives back to 1241 and is included in the book.
The twenty-three chapters guide the reader through this complex history, allowing a new appreciation of the works of art, whether familiar or little known, in terms of their meaning and devotional function. The patronage of chapels by prominent families, and by immigrant communities such as the Milanese and Florentines, has enhanced the rich variety of painting and sculpture. The role of women patrons is highlighted in several cases. The book examines the importance of relics as the focus of local devotion, and explores the role of the local confraternities (scuole) in the ceremonial and music.
An important aspect of the Frari was the commemoration of prominent individuals, whose tombs and monuments adorn the walls and floor of the church. Doges, military leaders, bishops, artists, musicians and businessmen found their last resting place within its walls. Because of its size and beauty, the church has played a major part in the lives of local residents, and the memorials enshrined within have inspired generations of Venetians and visitors alike. This uniquely interdisciplinary book contains a wealth of new material and insights into this long and complex institutional history.
La letteratura artistica seicentesca ha posto i fondamenti teorici per la suddivisione in generi ... more La letteratura artistica seicentesca ha posto i fondamenti teorici per la suddivisione in generi delle diverse categorie iconografiche di cui la pittura si compone. Questa classificazione da allora è entrata nell’uso comune e nel linguaggio dell’arte in modo talmente pervasivo da farla sembrare connaturata all’arte stessa; è implicitamente passato in secondo piano il fatto che, come ogni fenomeno culturale, anche i generi pittori ci hanno un loro momento d’inizio che ne condizionò la definizione e l’identità. Dove rintracciare, dunque, le origini di questo fenomeno?
Il tema, ricco e affascinante, costituisce il cuore di questo volume, frutto dello sforzo collettivo di un gruppo di studiosi che hanno condiviso e confrontato differenti metodologie e background di ricerca.
Gli otto casi studio, muovendosi tra Venezia, Roma, Colonia, Francoforte e Anversa, mettono a fuoco al- cune delle principali tematiche collegate allo sviluppo della pittura europea a cavallo tra ’500 e ’600: dalle pra- tiche di bottega e la specializzazione degli artisti, alla professionalizzazione mercantile dei pittori e alle loro connessioni con i mercanti, senza dimenticare alcune ben note tipologie pittoriche, dai cabinet paintings (o quadri da stanza) ai paesaggi affrescati, fino a una nuova ridefinizione visiva della pittura devozionale.
in Titian. Love, Desire, Death, exhibition cat. (London, The National Gallery), ed. Matthias Wievel, London, 2020, 2020
This essay summarises conclusions from research I have been carrying on Titian's wealth and his s... more This essay summarises conclusions from research I have been carrying on Titian's wealth and his sons. Full publication is currently in preparation (Feb. 2021). Detailed discussion and explanation of Leone Leioni's attack against Orazio Vecellio will be presented in a separate publication, currently in preparation (Feb. 2021).
Letters edited and annotated by Thomas Dalla Costa and Carlo Corsato.
Translation of texts from Italian to English (i.e. letters by Titian and Orazio Vecellio) by Livia Lupi with the help of Carlo Corsato, Thomas Dalla Costa and Matthias Wivel.
Translation of texts from Spanish to English (i.e. letters by Philip II) by Laura Suffield. Excerpt from Philip II's letter to the Duke of Sessa (p. 196) was translated from Spanish by Carlo Corsato
Artibus & Historiae, 2018
Artibus et Historiae no. 78 (XXXIX) Art and Culture North and South of the Alps from the Fifteent... more Artibus et Historiae no. 78 (XXXIX)
Art and Culture North and South of the Alps from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Essays in Honour of Bernard Aikema - Guest editors: Carlo Corsato and Juliette Ferdinand
The essay analyses the Louvre Crucifixion by Paolo Veronese (c. 1575–1580) and aims to clarify th... more The essay analyses the Louvre Crucifixion by Paolo Veronese (c. 1575–1580) and aims to clarify the presence and significance of the woman cloaked in yellow in the middle of the composition. Alternatively identified with the personification of the Synagogue, Mary Magdalen, or one of the three Marys, the veiled figure recurred frequently in representations of different moments of the Passion of Christ from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, including a number of works by Veronese himself. A study of this visual tradition explains how Veronese arranged the Louvre composition to be observed from a specific viewing angle. When contemplated from the right-hand side, the image reveals how the woman robed in yellow, none other than one of the Marys, has the function of guiding viewers through a spiritual journey from the suffering of the Virgin to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
El Renacimiento en Vencia. Triunfo de la belleza y destrucción de la pintura. Ed. Fernando Checa , 2017
Short historical reconstruction of life and work of the Bassano family, incl. Francesco Sr., Jaco... more Short historical reconstruction of life and work of the Bassano family, incl. Francesco Sr., Jacopo, Giambattista Sr., Francesco Jr., Giambattista Jr., Leandro and Girolamo.
Unpublished materials include:
- Birth records of Jacopo's children: Francesco Alessandro, Francesco Giambattista, Giambattista, Leandro, Girolamo
- The Penitent Magdalen (Accademia Carrara, Bergamo), correctly attributed to Francesco Bassano
in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Devotional Spaces, Images of Piety, 2015
È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia,... more È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad uso interno o didattico, non autorizzata. The photocopying of any pages of this publication is illegal. 2 The Franciscan order seems to have initiated the tradition of the presepio or Christmas crib. See ROSALIND BROOKE, The Image of St Francis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, pp. 309-310. 3 The Archivio di Stato was installed in the former friary on 13 December 1815. 4 The relationship between architecture, music and devotional life is explored in DEBORAH HOWARD -LAURA MORETTI, Sound and Space in Renaissance Venice: Architecture, Music, Acoustics, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 2009, pp. 79-94. 5 UMBERTO FRANZOI -DINA DI STEFANO, Le chiese di Venezia, Alfieri, Venice 1976, p. 46; see also CARLO CORSATO -RENATA MARZI in this volume.
in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Devotional Spaces, Images of Piety, 2015
È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia,... more È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad uso interno o didattico, non autorizzata. The photocopying of any pages of this publication is illegal.
in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Devotional Spaces, Images of Piety, 2015
È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia,... more È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, effettuata con qualsiasi mezzo, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad uso interno o didattico, non autorizzata. The photocopying of any pages of this publication is illegal. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari : immagini di devozione, spazi della fede = devotional spaces, images of Piety / a cura di = edited by Carlo Corsato, Deborah Howard. -Padova : Centro Studi Antoniani, 2015. -XXVIII, 324 p., [128] carte di tav. : ill. ; 24 cm. (Centro Studi Antoniani ; 56) ISBN 978-88-95908-00-7 I : Corsato, Carlo II : Howard, Deborah 1 : Venezia -Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari 726.50945311 -Ed. 22.
in De l'authenticité. Une histoire des valeurs de l'art (XVIe - XXe siècle), ed. Charlotte Guichard, 2014
Zel Edizioni, Treviso, 2013
Artistic specialization constitutes the founding principle of the classification per pictorial ge... more Artistic specialization constitutes the founding principle of the classification per pictorial genres. Around 1600 it was Karel van Mander (1604) who on the base of XVIth-century historiographical models may have been the first to register how each artist’s individual character is based both on his innate, individual predisposition and the technical variety at his disposal. This thesis can be perfectly illustrated by the The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man, painted conjointly by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens. Brilliantly integrating narrative scenes into landscape, the two great artists transformed the traditional iconography of The Fall of Man into a new pictorial category (“genre”), which preludes to thematic specialization and to pictorial genres. Venetian painting, more in particular of Jacopo Bassano and Titian, offers a model for this iconographical manipulation, in line with Van Mander’s idea. In the writings of Federico Borromeo and Roberto Bellarmino one finds a cultural reference system for the reception of this new kind of devotional painting. The symbols of Nature and the Holy Scripture in particular offer the observer new keys to understand Salvation. In line with neo-stoic philosophy – familiar to both artists –, one might even propose a political reading of the picture in reference to the Twelve-Years-Truce (1609-1621).
in 'Crocifissi lignei a Venezia e nei territori della Serenissima, 1350 - 1500: modelli, diffusione, restauro', 2013
Likeness and imitation represent the 'corforming' and the 'getting conformed' to a model. The two... more Likeness and imitation represent the 'corforming' and the 'getting conformed' to a model. The two concepts constitute the core methodology of the history of art, for scholars are enabled to group works of art according to their stylist and technical similarities. In particular, the l5th century woodcarved Crucifixes show how likeness and imitation are essential to enact devotional practice. In fact, the picture of the Christ's death on the cross imitates its ideal model (the actual historical event) and so doing assist the pious beholder to see Christ face to face. In other words Crucifix makes visible the divinity of God that it is intended to be invisible. The artistic creation thus gets conformed to the divine creation, for the woodcarver is capable to reify God into a religious picrure. The 14th and 15th century literature provides explicit reference of the concepts of likeness and imitation to the devotional practice.
From Dal Ponte to Bassano. The Legacy of Jacopo, the Shops of His Sons and the Artistic Identity ... more From Dal Ponte to Bassano. The Legacy of Jacopo, the Shops of His Sons and the Artistic Identity of Michele Pietra, 1578–1656. The article reconstructs the history, evolution and organisation of the Bassano workshops across the broad span of their existence from 1578 to 1656. Careful historical reconstruction has outlined the profiles of four workshops on the basis of documents, many of which were hitherto unknown and/or unpublished. The first bottega, directed in Bassano by Jacopo, was supplemented by parallel, yet interconnected, enterprises that were established in Venice by his sons Francesco (1578–1592) and Leandro (1587–1621). Upon Jacopo’s death, his other two sons, Giambattista and Girolamo, took over the family business (1592–1606), whose commercial position was progressively supported and improved as a result of Leandro’s leadership in the Venetian art market. Francesco died only a few months after his father and his shop was inherited by and divided among his three brothe...
Filologie medievali e moderne, 2021
In the wake of 2020’s Coronavirus pandemic, museums and galleries across the world were forced to... more In the wake of 2020’s Coronavirus pandemic, museums and galleries across the world were forced to close and many of these institutions turned to programming activities online rather than onsite. This paper explores that move from the physical to the digital realm through two case studies within the Learning and National Programmes department at The National Gallery in London. It addresses the obstacles and benefits of online working with two very different audiences, young people in education and a community group of people living with mental health difficulties. The paper seeks to elaborate on the specific challenges of working with these audiences and contribute to the development of best practice in the field.
Artibus et Historiae, 2019
The altarpiece of Saints Catherine of Siena and Thomas Aquinas, formerly placed above the first a... more The altarpiece of Saints Catherine of Siena and Thomas Aquinas, formerly placed above the first altar on the right in the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, but destroyed by fire in 1867, is perhaps one of Giovanni Bellini’s most famous works – yet it is also one about which we possess the least material information. Through the analysis of primary sources and the surviving documentation this paper reconstructs the original material characteristics of the panel, including its technique and original size. The paper also discusses the restoration of the stone frame, still in situ and convincingly attributed to Pietro Lombardo and his workshop, and takes into account unpublished photographs of the 1994–1995 treatment supported by Save Venice. On the basis of this information a digital recreation of the original altarpiece is provided, and the opportunity is taken to correct the errors in the previous reconstructions published by Giles Robertson, Rona Goffen, and Denise Zaru.
The paper reconstructs the historiography, restoration and original measurements of the San Giobb... more The paper reconstructs the historiography, restoration and original measurements of the San Giobbe Altarpiece (Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia), the greatest of Giovanni Bellini's surviving work. An unpublished digital reconstruction recreates the original unity between the panel and its original stone frame (Venice, Chiesa di San Giobbe), almost unanimously attributed to Pietro Lombardo and his Workshop.
The Eagle, 2017
Transcription and comment of the manuscript annotation on the flyleaf opposite the frontispiece o... more Transcription and comment of the manuscript annotation on the flyleaf opposite the frontispiece of the Beneficio di Cristo, St John College, Cambridge
Paolo Veronese, giornate di studio
Paolo Veronese's Crucifixion (Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia) originally decorated the church of... more Paolo Veronese's Crucifixion (Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia) originally decorated the church of San Nicoletto dei Frari (also known as San Nicolò della Lattuga). Providing an historical reconstruction of the original location of the painting, the paper investigates the role of Mary Magdalen in prompting forms of devotion related to the practice of penance in Renaissance Venice.
The article reconstructs the history, evolution and organisation of the Bassano workshops across ... more The article reconstructs the history, evolution and organisation of the Bassano workshops across the broad span of their existence from 1578 to 1656. Careful historical reconstruction has outlined the profiles of four workshops on the basis of documents, many of which were hitherto unknown and/or unpublished.
The first bottega, directed in Bassano by Jacopo, was supplemented by parallel, yet interconnected, enterprises that were established in Venice by his sons Francesco (1578–1592) and Leandro (1587–1621). Upon Jacopo’s death, his other two sons, Giambattista and Girolamo, took over the family business (1592–1606), whose commercial position was progressively supported and improved as a result of Leandro’s leadership in the Venetian art market. Francesco died only a few months after his father and his shop was inherited by and divided among his three brothers.
The evolution of such a family business was not at all a natural or painless process, as traditionally suggested. It was, instead, the result of Jacopo’s careful and flexible planning, as well as of legal arbitration between father and sons, a complicated procedure that has been discussed in detail in the article.
At the very beginning of the third decade of the seventeenth century, Girolamo’s workshop, which he had meanwhile set up in Venice (1606–1621), was re-capitalised unexpectedly by one of his collaborators, Michele Pietra. Pietra extended his artistic services to include restoration and possibly the production of forgeries of works by famous painters of the sixteenth century (Bassano and Titian included). The analysis of unpublished documentation illuminates the role and importance of Pietra’s shop in terms of commercial strategies and the volume of production.
The article also takes into consideration the appreciation of the style and manner promoted by the four workshops. In particular, the study and attribution of new works, as well as the examination of key commissions, have presented the contributions of the various painters in a new historical perspective. But, more importantly, the paper also demonstrates how a style, which once belonged to Jacopo alone, came to be associated with a distinctive manner – the brand – of an entire clan of artists.
Ateneo Veneto, 12/I, 2013
Una parte importante dell'identità di Venezia può essere rintracciata nella basilica dei Santi Gi... more Una parte importante dell'identità di Venezia può essere rintracciata nella basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, dove si incontrano la storia della città e la devozione domenicana in una delle pale d'altare più note della pittura veneziana: l'Uccisione di san Pietro martire 1 . Si tratta della celebre opera dipinta da Tiziano Vecellio entro il 1530 e collocata il 27 aprile di quello stesso anno sul secondo altare alla sinistra dell'ingresso, intitolato al martire di Verona. La sua storia si conclude, come è noto, nel 1867, quando il dipinto andò in fumo durante un incendio nel quale perì fatalmente anche la pala di Santa Caterina di Giovanni Bellini 2 . Fortunatamente la sua memoria permane nelle descrizioni riportate nelle fonti letterarie antiche, nonché nelle numerose incisioni (celebre quella di Martino Rota, ), e nelle molte copie dipinte 3 .
Verona Illustrata, 24, 2011, pp. 63-82, 2011
È il 10 febbraio 1592 quando Jacopo Dal Ponte decide di dettare le sue volontà, proprio negli ult... more È il 10 febbraio 1592 quando Jacopo Dal Ponte decide di dettare le sue volontà, proprio negli ultimi giorni della sua vita. 1 Il 14 febbraio, infatti, il più celebre pittore di Bassano del Grappa risulta già sepolto nella sua arca posta nella chiesa di San Francesco. 2 La sua principale ultima preoccupazione, potrebbe forse stupire, è quella di preparare il futuro della propria impresa familiare, della quale fin dalla morte del padre Francesco (maggio-luglio 1539) 3 è il gestore indiscusso. Nella sua mente, dunque, quest'ultimo atto segna l'inizio di una storia articolata e stratificata che vede protagonisti i figli Giambattista, Leandro e Girolamo, che non a caso sono i più beneficiati dalle sue ultime volontà.
in exh. cat. Tiziano Milano, ed by. Valeria Merlini and Daniela Storti, Skira, Milano 2010, pp. 94-101
in La Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Pantheon della Serenissima, a cura di Giuseppe Pavanello, Marcianum Press 2012, pp. 213-218 , 2012
in La Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Pantheon della Serenissima, a cura di Giuseppe Pavanello, Marcianum Press 2012, pp. 230-233 , 2012
Renaissance Studies, 2016
Renaissance Studies, 2016
Renaissance Studies, 2016
Renaissance Studies, 2016
by Gaia Tomazzoli, Humanities for Change, Stefano Adamo, Iris Pupella-Noguès, Irene Mamprin, Giulia Pellizzato, eugenio burgio, Alessandra Trevisan, Alice Girotto, Carlo Corsato, and Kate Devine
Intersections: New Perspectives for Public Humanities, 2020