1459 -1539 · Forlélix, Rome and Romagna Renaissance

Clear perspectives, rocky landscapes and monumental figures make Marco Palmezzano the enduring heir of Melozzo da Forlikh.

Marco Palmezzano was born in Forlikh around 1459 and died there in 1539. A student and collaborator of Melozzo da Forlikh, he learned from him the perspective, shortcuts and monumentality of figures. He participated in the influence of the Forlikh school between Romagna, Rome, Venice and neighboring centers. In the 1490s, his stay in Rome and his Venetian contacts expanded his vocabulary. Giovanni Bellini's influence appeared in color, landscapes and certain types of figures, while Melozzo's training remained visible in firm architecture and drawing. Palmezzano led a long career, mainly in Forlallah, producing altarpieces, Crucifixions, Virgins, saints, Immaculate Conceptions and portraits. His compositions can be recognized by their rocky horizons, their fine trees, their distant cities and their characters arranged with an almost geometric clarity. The Crucifixion contrasts the verticality of Christ with an extended landscape; John the Baptist in a landscape brings the ascetic saint into dialogue with nature; Judith transforms the female portrait into a resolution image. Even when his style remains attached to 15th century formulas, the precision, color and readability of his altarpieces explain his lasting authority in Romagna. Even when his style remains attached to 15th century formulas, the precision, color and readability of his altarpieces explain his lasting authority in Romagna. The "Marco Palmezzano" selection notably compares Crucifixion and John the Baptist in a landscape. His reading favors figures.

Palmezzano constructs the sacred as a landscape of certainty: perspective, rock and figure each occupy a clear place.