CIMA da Conegliano. — Painter, born in Conegliano between 1459 and 1460 and died there in 1517–18. In 1492 he settled in Venice, where he remained for almost the rest of his life. Some aspects of his approach to the problem of light bring him close to Montagna. The line in Cima’s work suggests volume, making use of chiaroscuro that does not destroy color but makes it vibrate even in shadow. The soft chiaroscuro is matched by the gentle expression of the figures, animated by a pure and profound piety. Notable too is his naïve love of nature, which leads the painter to place sacred scenes against backgrounds of gardens and porticoes.
Among Cima’s most important works are: the *Madonna between Sts. James and Jerome*, in the gallery of Vicenza; the *Glorification of St. John the Baptist*, in the Madonna dell’Orto in Venice; the *Baptism of Christ*, in S. Giovanni in Bragora in Venice; the *Madonna of the Orange Tree*, in the gallery of Venice, a rustic scene that well shows the painter’s country love of untrammelled nature; the *St. Peter Martyr* in the Brera Pinacoteca; the *Presentation in the Temple* in the Pinacoteca of Dresden, one of the most beautiful paintings for its landscape background; the *Nativity* in the church of the Carmine in Venice.