Bonifazio de' Pitati

Bonifacio Veronese 1487-1553

Venetian painter who was born in Verona and about whose identity there has been a great deal of confusion. Because of a variety in style and quality and a difference in recorded names, his works were at one time ascribed to three distinct hands. At present they are considered the works of one painter (probably a pupil of Palma Vecchio), whose best works date 1530-40. In 1531, he began decorations in the Palazzo Camerlenghi, Venice, which were finished by his pupils and others, including Tintoretto. His only signed work is an altarpiece now in the Palazzo Reale, Venice, which was originally executed (1533) for the Scuola dei Sartori. On the whole he is quieter and more refined than Palma Vecchio, and an excellent colorist, though he was lacking in temperament and his work is devoid of compositional interest. He painted with a great deal of anecdotal detail and is important for his influence on Jacopo Bassano. His style declined precipitously after 1540, either because of a protracted illness or the great number of commissions he undertook and relegated to his workshop.io Veronese 1487-1553