Francesco Bonsignori
[1] The attribution of the portrait of a Venetian Senator (National Gallery, London) was debatable until the last century because of the similarity in techniques used by Bonsignori and his teacher Mantegna.
[2] His appreciation of Francesco Squarcione, founder of the Paduan school and teacher of Andrea Mantegna, subsequently influenced Bonsignori’s early style and taste.
[8] Integration of styles from different contemporary masters is notable in Bonsignori's early pieces, which were characterized by his concentration on human figures in devotional picture and portraits.
Successively, he produced several altarpieces depicting The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Music-making Angels and SS George and Jerome (Banda Chapel, S Bernardino,Verona) in 1488.
The Virgin and Child Enthroned with SS Anthony of Egypt and Onofrio, signed and dated in 1488, is known only through a 19th-century copy preserved in Florence.
During the same year, Francesco Gonzaga commissioned a painting to display his military capability and leadership as the leader of Italian force and commemorate his victory against French king Charles Vlll in Fornovo on 6 July 1495.
In the same year, another altarpiece, SS Louis and Francis with the insignia of Christ, preserved in the monastery of S Francesco de’ Zoccolanti in Mantua was executed.
In 1509, Bonsignori created Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga (1471–1526; Uffiz, Florence), and that of Emilia Pia di Montefeltro (1470–1528) (MD Museum, Baltimore).
Among the collection of portrait drawings, the majority belonged to the Gonzaga family for use as presents to foreign rulers in all Italian states and princes in France and Germany.
Since he mainly focused on decorating their castles with frescoes in a small town in Mantua, he did not produce many paintings, but still devoted time to his workshop and traditional apprenticeship.
The elderly man is depicted as a distinguished Venetian Patrician, wearing a black hat, stole and scarlet gown with fur around the neck.
Bonsignori integrated innovative elements into a traditional portrait of a nobleman, otherwise typical of contemporary artists in Northern Italy.
The vibrant facial expression, incisive depiction of the man's features, and skillful play on light caused art historians such as Philip Pouncey, David Ekserdjian and Konrad Oberhuber to suggest that the chalk drawing was created by Mantegna as a preparatory study for Bonsignori's use.
In addition, distinctive techniques applied by Mantegna in his paintings, such as strong diagonal brushstrokes and the vigorous plasticity of figures are absent here.
Letters exchanged between Francesco Gonzaga, 4th Marquess of Mantua and his wife Isabella d’ Este, concerning the portrait of their son proved that the charcoal cartoon was part of Bonsignori's working method before transferring the design to a panel.
[3] They praised its high quality: “quello di carbone piu bello che mai vedesti” ("That one in charcoal more beautiful than any you have ever seen.
[15] The Madonna and Child (Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin) concentrates on human figures before a dark, neutral background featuring a garland of fruit.
The Child is painted with coquettish attitude rather than a Mantegnesque distant and severe facial expression typical of Bonsignori's middle period.
According to Vasari, the appearance and position of the group of saints and child are derived from an engraving by Mantegna in reverse, except for the hand gestures of Madonna which is originally created by Bonsignori.
[2] As a preparation for St Sebastian (S Maria delle Grazie, Curtatone), he spent four years on observation and execution to achieve naturalistic effects.
Vasari mentioned in his book that Bonsignori used a sturdy porter as his model for the natural effect, suggested by his patron Francesco Gonzaga, the 4th Marquess of Mantua.
When Francesco Gonzaga first visited Bonsignori's studio, he complained that the bindings of St. Sebastian were minimal and there was no sign of frenzy to loosen them.
The spontaneity, fluency of lines and the presence of pentimento in her neck and face substantiate that the altarpiece is Bonsignori's original study.
Bonsignori focused on the facial expression and gestures of figures, rather than architectural element and natural landscape with narrative details in the background.
The detailed depiction of Osanna's facial features shows us the familiarity Bonsignori had about the figure, who was a venerated spiritual and political advisor of the Gonzaga family for decades.
Viewers are compelled to think about the rich and complicated female religious life in sixteenth-century Mantua that the painting aims to show in full.
Some of the female monasteries that made up the city at the time the altarpiece was produced are still surviving until this date as more practical venues like schools or cultural centers.
Profile of warrior - Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore Christ bearing Cross, and Saint Veronica - Bargello Carrand Collection, Florence Furniture panel: Apollo and Daphne - Berenson Collection, Florence The lamentation with a Benedictine Donor - The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford Portrait of an elderly man - 1487, The National Gallery, London Way to Golgotha.L.
Visions of Blessed Osanna Andeasi, with Isabella d’Este - Palazzo Ducale, Mantua Bust of elderly man - J.G.
Anthony Abbot and Mary Magdalen - S. Paolo, First chapel R, Verona Crucifixion - S. Lorenzo, fourth altar, R. transept, Vicenza Predella: Two captive kings before a judge – York Bust of Petrus Leonius – Homeless Madonna and Child - 1491, The Samuel H. Kress Collection, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK Head of female saint - Poldi-Pezzoli museum, Milan
