Workshop of Bonifacio de' Pitati (Verona, ca. 1487 – Venice, 1553), Adoration of the Shepherds with Saints Francis and Catherine

Workshop of Bonifacio de' Pitati (Verona, ca. 1487 – Venice, 1553)

Adoration of the Shepherds with Saints Francis and Catherine

Oil on canvas, 125 x 168 cm

The work appears to be derived from the model by Bonifacio de' Pitati, preserved in the Church of the Eremitani in Padua and depicting the Adoration of the Shepherds with Saints Francis and Catherine, which can be dated stylistically to the first half of the 16th century, although the documentary gap regarding the training of the Veronese artist has compromised the correct placement of the works dating back to his youthful production, in particular those relating to the thirty-year period from 1501 to 1528. The formal and typological characteristics of his early production, however, place him already in Venice, probably by 1510-15. These elements lend credibility to the news, reported by Carlo Ridolfi (1648, 1914, p. 284), that Pitati had spent a period of apprenticeship in the workshop of Jacopo Palma il Vecchio, a relationship which, after an initial apprenticeship, turned into a full-fledged collaboration.

Beginning in the 1520s, Bonifacio de' Pitati began to establish a circle of patrons, executing paintings for both private and public devotion, still demonstrating a close reliance on Palma's motifs while also maintaining a certain degree of autonomy. With the death of his master and colleague Palma il Vecchio on July 30, 1528, one of the most important Venetian workshops of the early 16th century disappeared, allowing Bonifacio to assert himself as a leading figure in the Venetian art scene. The canvases of these years are characterized by the Nordic inspiration of their landscapes, in contrast to Palma's solemn lyricism, although the spirituality of the locus amoenus of the verdant landscape populated by divine presences always lingers.

It is likely that from the beginning Bonifacio Pitati could count almost exclusively on the help of the young Antonio Palma (1515-1575, father of Jacopo Palma the Younger), who had to complete his apprenticeship with him starting in 1528 (Ludwig, 1901, p. 74). Soon, however, he was able to adapt the workshop to the specific nature of the contract, which required a high level of quality with rapid execution times, especially for rapidly changing public clients. Taking advantage of the prestige acquired by his workshop, which attracted talented young men such as Jacopo Bassano and Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594), and then Andrea Meldolla, later known as lo Schiavone, Bonifacio adopted them first as apprentices (c. 1530-35) and then as collaborators (at least until 1540).

In 1530, the artist was registered in the lists of masters of art. His Venetian school continually drew inspiration from Giorgione's colorism and Palma's narratives, respecting the figurative rhythms of the hinterland, unlike Pordenone (1483-1539) and Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547), who instead drew vibrant Tuscan-Roman translations from their Roman sojourn. Around the 1530s, De' Pitati's painting showed a shift towards the typical style of Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556/7), also a solitary pilgrim artist, so much so that it is possible to presume that the two artists were involved in the same patronage circles. In conjunction with the bourgeois artisan market, Bonifacio managed to intercept some important ecclesiastical commissions, the most prestigious of which was the decoration of the altar of the Relics in the church of S. Maria dei Servi, dating back to 1533.

This work splendidly highlights the typically Venetian importance attributed to light and the use of colour, which served as a springboard for the international recognition of the 16th-century Venetian school, which arose from the mosaics of St. Mark and was directed by Bellini on a path of eternal ascent.

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