CARLO BRACCESCO. — Lombard painter, referred to as “magister Carolus de Mediolano” in a document dated 14 November 1481. His first signed work, “Carolus Mediolanensis,” is a polyptych in the sanctuary of Montegrazie (Imperia), dated 1478. Around this painting, recent scholarship has grouped other works, namely the exquisite *Annunciation* in the Louvre, the *Manna of St Andrew* in the Cluny Museum, the *Crucifixion of St Andrew* at the Ca’ d’Oro, and a fragment from the same cycle in the Kress Collection, New York.
The figurative culture of C. B. appears highly complex: above all, one senses his descent from Foppa and Bergognone, while (Longhi) other antecedents can be discerned, including Bonifacio Bembo and the figure of Donato de’ Bardi. This multiplicity of influences, combined with a conscious engagement with Renaissance innovations, is interpreted by B. through a lively sensibility, resolved in heightened chromaticism, a preference for gold grounds, a subtle linear rhythm, and an affectionate participation in sentiment. The last record of him dates to 6 March 1501.