CIMA da CONEGLIANO. - Painter, born at Conegliano between 1459 and 1460 and died there in 1517-18. In 1492 he settled in Venice, where he remained for almost all the rest of his life. Certain aspects of his manner of addressing the problem of light bring him close to Montagna. In C., line suggests volume, making use of painterly chiaroscuro, which does not destroy colour but causes it to vibrate even in shadow. The gentle expression of the figures, animated by a candid and profound piety, accords with this soft chiaroscuro. Also noteworthy is his ingenuous love of nature, which often led the painter to place sacred scenes against the background of gardens and pergolas.
Among C.'s most important works may be mentioned: the Madonna between SS. James and Jerome, in the Vicenza gallery; the Glorification of 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 Venice gallery, a rustic scene that clearly displays the rural painter's preference for untamed nature; the S. Peter Martyr in the Brera picture gallery; the Presentation in the Temple in the Dresden picture gallery, one of the most beautiful paintings for its landscape background; the Nativity in the church of the Carmine in Venice.