Giovanni Battista Zelotti

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Giovanni Battista Zelotti (* around 1526 probably in Verona ; † August 28, 1578 in Mantua ) was an Italian Renaissance painter .

Life and works

Giambattista Zelotti was one of the best known and most famous fresco painters who worked on the Venetian mainland around the middle of the 16th century. He was trained by Antonio Badile and Domenico Riccio , perhaps also by Tizian . According to Bernasconi, he is said to have learned from his uncle Paolo Farinati. Giorgio Vasari calls him Battista di Verona, but also Battista Farinati. He was a contemporary of Paolo Veronese , with whom he worked closely. He worked with him on the frescoes of the Villa Da Porto Colleoni in Thiene , the Villa Soranzo, and in Venice he was entrusted with work in the Doge's Palace (1553/54) and in the Biblioteca Marciana (1556/57). Commissions also led to Vicenza : work in the Palazzo Chiericati (1558) and in the cathedral (1572). He enjoyed an excellent reputation among the noble families of his time and was increasingly entrusted with the painting of their country houses. In 1557 he created the frescoes in the Villa Godi in Lonedo, then in the Villa Emo in Fanzolo and in the Malcontenta . Around 1570 he worked in the Castello del Catajo and painted two halls in the Villa Caldagno. 1572 worked at the Villa Da Porto in Torri di Quartesolo. In 1575 he finally moved to Mantua as prefect of the ducal buildings , where he died in 1578. Zelotti's paintings were based closely on Palladio's ideals . His frescoes are typical examples of illusion painting. The walls are divided by architectural elements and filled with landscapes, mythological scenes, allegorical figures or historical cycles.

Frescoes by GB Zelotti, Villa Emo in Fanzolo

Works

Together with Paolo Veronese he worked on the following projects:

  • Villa Soranza near Castelfranco (1551) - only remnants of these works have survived today.
  • Doge's Palace (ceiling of the Sala del Consiglio dei Dieci) in Venice (1553/54).
  • Biblioteca Marciana (1556/57) in Venice.
  • Palazzo Trevisan in Murano.

Other collaborations and independent work:

  • Villa Foscari (La Malcontenta) (VE) - he created the fresco decorations together with Bernardino India and Battista Franco . Today only remains are left.
  • Villa Emo in Fanzolo (TV) - allegorical representation of the arts.
  • Villa Roberti in Brúgine (PD) - Landscapes in which episodes from the Metamorphoses of Ovid take place.
  • Castello Obizzi called Castello del Catajo in Battaglia Terme (PD) - depictions from Roman history and a fresco cycle of contemporary battle scenes in which the obizzi gained fame (around 1570).
Wedding at the Obizzi house, fresco by GB Zelotti in the Catajo Castle in Battaglia Terme
  • Villa Godi Valmarana in Lugo di Vicenza (VI) - Hercules deciding between virtue and vice, room of the arts, room of Olympus, room of Venus.
  • Villa Caldogno in Caldogno (VI) - Scipio's room, most of which was decorated by Giovanni Antonio Fasolo .
  • Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza.
  • Villa Porto Colleoni in Thiene (VI) - together with Giovanni Antonio Fasolo.
  • Villa Da Porto in Torri di Quartesolo - the frescoes are now in the town hall or in the museum of Vicenza.
  • Abbazia di Praglia - dome fresco and altarpiece.

literature

  • Gerda Bödefeld and Berthold Hinz : The villas in Veneto . DuMont Art Guide, Cologne 1987, ISBN 3-7701-1838-3
  • Michelangelo Muraro and Paolo Marton: Villas in Veneto . Könnemann, 1996, ISBN 3-89508-214-7
  • Cesare Bernasconi: Studi sopra la storia della pittura italiana dei secoli xiv e xv e della scuola pittorica veronese dai medi tempi fino tutto il secolo xviii . 1864, pp. 333-334
  • Sydney J. Freedberg: Pelican History of Art: Painting in Italy, 1500-1600 . Penguin Books, 1993, pp. 559-560.
  • Irma B. Jaffe and Gernando Colombardo: Zelotti's Epic Frescoes at Cataio. The Obizzi Saga . Fordham University Press, 2007, ISBN 9780823227426

Web links

Commons : Giovanni Battista Zelotti  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Zelotti, Giovanni Battista
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian Renaissance painter
DATE OF BIRTH around 1526
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Verona
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 1578
Place of death Mantua