Buon, Family

BUON, FAMIGLIA. – GIOVANNI, architect and sculptor, is first recorded in Venice in 1382; he died there in 1442. He worked together with his son Bartolomeo on the church of S. Maria dell'Orto, the abbey of the Misericordia, the church of S. Polo, and the Scuola grande di S. Marco (1437), where he provided the Gothic frame of the portal (the lunette is attributed to Bartolomeo). In 1438 he began work on the Porta della Carta. His activity developed within the Gothic tradition, to which his son BARTOLOMEO (died in Venice in 1464) also remained attached, renewing its significance through a broad, composed strength of modelling, of Tuscan inspiration (cf. the Carità, Scuola grande di S. Marco). B. is the foremost representative of Venetian sculpture in the first half of the century, and the greatest part of the period’s sculptural production is connected with his workshop. The quality of his art is documented more by the lunette of the portal of the Scuola della Misericordia (1441–45) than by the Madonna del Municipio in Udine (1448); nor does the direct intervention of a Tuscan seem necessary to explain the delicate elegance of the lunette in S. Maria della Salute (formerly in S. Maria della Carità, 1443–49). Among the most notable works are the wellhead at the Ca' d'Oro and the sculptural decoration (the attribution of the Virtù is disputed) of the Porta della Carta.