Murano, School of Art of

MURANO, ARTISTIC SCHOOL of. — M., during the course of the fifteenth century, gave birth to a considerable number of artists who, without forming a school of painting with distinctive characteristics, nevertheless added lustre to the name of the island and disseminated

many works on the mainland and along the Adriatic coast.

The most important among them are Vivarini family (v.): ANTONIO, the eldest (b. c. 1415, d. between 1476 and 1484), with works dated from 1441 to 1469; his brother BARTOLOMEO (b. c. 1432, d. c. 1499); and Antonio’s son, ALVISE (b. 1445–46, d. 1503–1505). These artists each possessed a distinct personality and development, with no major reciprocal ties apart from an initial period of collaboration between Antonio and his brother, and Alvise’s apprenticeship with his uncle Bartolomeo.

Other painters include: QUIRIZIO DA M., documented from 1401 to 1478, a follower of Antonio Vivarini, from whom he retains the ingenuous grace and late Gothic traits, while also undergoing the influence of other artists such as Crivelli and Giambellino; his securely attributed works are a triptych, S. Lucia and stories from her life, in the Accademia dei Concordi in Rovigo, a Redeemer, in the Accademia of Venice, noteworthy for its profoundly Bellinesque landscape, and a Madonna, also in the Accademia. ANDREA DA M., documented from 1462 to 1502, enjoyed a considerable reputation in the past, which recent criticism tends to confirm. A follower of Bartolomeo Vivarini, whom he also assisted, he has a harsh, angular manner, at times somewhat coarse but nevertheless direct and effective, which in his finest works reveals the influence of Andrea del Castagno, as in the triptych in the Accademia of Venice with the Madonna della Misericordia and various saints. Other works include the great altarpiece of Trebaseleghe (begun in 1484), which contains passages of great effect; a Crucifix in the Museum of Merano; a S. Giovanni Evangelista in a private collection in the United States; the late and weak altarpiece of Mussolente (1502), etc. Recently, the hypothesis has been advanced that Andrea da M. is the author of the sections

(phot. Alinari)

MURANO, ARTISTIC SCHOOL of. — T. Panel with the image of S. Lucia and six stories from her life. Painting by Quirizio di Giovanni da Murano (1462) — Rovigo, Pinacoteca dei Concordi.

(from R. Longhi, Cinque secoli di pittura veneziana, Florence 1898, vol. 33)

MURANO, ARTISTIC SCHOOL of — S. Giovanni Evangelista. Painting by Andrea da Murano — America, private collection, location uncertain.