around 1521 -1579 · Bergamo, Brescia and Lombard portrait

Emphasisless looks, precisely described clothing and silent psychology make Giovanni Battista Moroni one of the most modern portrait painters of the 16th century.

Giovanni Battista Moroni was born in Albino, near Bergamo, around 1521. He trained in Brescia in the workshop of Alessandro Bonvicino, known as Moretto, from whom he retained the silver light, the calm dignity of the figures and attention to materials. His first religious commissions took him to Trentino at the time of the Council of Trent, then he worked mainly between Bergamo and the neighboring valleys. Moroni painted altarpieces and devotional images, but his reputation rested above all on portraiture. He depicts nobles, scholars, officers, tailors and members of local elites with remarkable frankness. He depicts nobles, scholars, officers, tailors and members of local elites with remarkable frankness. He depicts nobles, scholars, officers, tailors and members of local elites with remarkable frankness. He depicts nobles, scholars, officers, tailors and members of local elites with remarkable frankness. He depicts nobles, scholars, officers, tailors and members of local elites with remarkable frankness. He depicts nobles, scholars, officers, tailors and members of local elites with remarkable frankness. He depicts nobles, scholars, officers, tailors and members of local accompanied by a book, a letter, a weapon or a tool which specifies its identity without becoming an ostentatious decoration. The black fabrics, velvet, embroidery, chains and folds are rendered with accuracy, while the face and hands concentrate the expression. Vasari emphasizes that his effigies appeared true; this immediacy probably comes from attentive practice in front of the living model. The famous Tailor thus gives a craftsman at work the same presence reserved for aristocrats. Moroni hardly flatters: asymmetries, fatigue, reserve or confidence construct an individual psychology. His religious paintings, such as the Last Supper or the Adoration of the Magi, extend Moretto's legacy with solid figures and clear narration. Died in Bergamo in 1579, he left a set of portraits which links the Lombard Renaissance to a surprisingly direct social observation. The selection "Giovanni Battista Moroni" notably compares The Adoration of the Magi with Saint Lucy and The Last Supper. His reading favors composition.

Moroni reduces the decor to intensify the encounter: a look, a hand and a fabric are enough to make you feel the rank, the profession and the character.