Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Pomponio Amalteo




Pomponio Amalteo (1505-1588) was a provincial painter based in the Veneto. He tended to devote himself to fresco-jobs at some of the less prestigious churches and town halls of the region. More than a fair share of his surviving work is time-ravaged.

The three drawings above on blue paper show Amalteo taking on the task of compressing groups of child-musicians inside the tapering trompe l'oeil pendentives of a planned ceiling-fresco. Today these artifacts are reckoned by the Metropolitan Museum (their current owner) as effectively priceless, even though they might well have been reckoned as little better than studio trash 500 years ago.

Other surviving fragments from the hand of this obscure master are ranged below. In addition to holdings at the Met, other of these artifacts are located in the Royal Collection and at the Morgan Library, while still others remain in the buildings for which they were intended.

Prophet Baruch

Annunciation
Duomo di Cividale del Friuli

Baptism of Christ
Chiesa di Santo Stefano, Venezia
Two Apostles

Two Riders

Flight into Egypt

Flight into Egypt

Storie di SantAndrea
Chiesa SantAndrea Portogruaro


Urban Scene with Balconies
Fresco fragment

Coronation of the Virgin
 Santa Maria dei Battuti 

Affreschi nella loggia del Palazzo Municipale