Giovanni Bon

Giovanni Bon , also Giovanni Buon or Giovanni Bono , (* before 1382 probably in Como , † 1442 at the earliest in Venice ) was an Italian builder and sculptor. He was a member of the Bon family of architects and sculptors from Merzario near Como, who were active in Venice, and is considered to be an important representative of both métiers in the transition from the late Gothic to the early Renaissance .

The facade of the Ca 'd'Oro , on which Giovanni Bon worked in a leading role from 1422 to 1430

Life

His father was Bertuccio Bon , and his Comasch family should not be confused with the Venetian noble family of the same name. The first source , which Giovanni Bon mentions, dates back to 1382 and describes the Contrada S. Sofia as his place of residence. Ten years later he worked on the decoration of the facade of Madonna dell'Orto , for which he probably made some of the sculptures.

From 1422 to 1430 he worked on the Ca 'd'Oro , one of the most important urban palaces in Venice. There he worked together with his son Bartolomeo , as well as with Marco di Amadeo and the Lombard Matteo Raverti. In 1437 he was commissioned to build the portal of the Scuola Grande di San Marco , which, however, was destroyed by fire in 1485. With a contract that he signed on November 10, 1438, he was entrusted with the revision of the side of the Doge's Palace facing the Piazetta , the culmination of which is the Porta della Carta .

The Porta della Carta at the Doge's Palace

On March 25, 1442 he drew up his will , but on April 17 he committed himself to complete the Porta della carta together with his son Bartolomeo. The father worked more in the organizational field than as a sculptor. The construction work at the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia was probably based on a similar division of labor , even if the father received the payment. This also applies to the work on the Ospizio Baseggio, in the Corte vecchia della Scuola, a school to which Giovanni belonged as a brother.

The Madonna della Misericordia, often attributed to Bartolomeo, but also to Giovanni Bon, Victoria and Albert Museum , London

His sculptural work is not easy to grasp. The three sculptures above the altar in the Mascoli chapel in San Marco , the Madonna between Saint Peter and Saint Mark, which was attributed to a “Master of the Mascoli Altar”, could have come from him. Similar uncertain attributions apply to the Madonna in the presbytery or the balustrades with the busts of saints, which are now in the Museo del Seminario , which in turn were long ascribed to the Dalle Masegne .

literature

Leo Planiscig : Venetian Sculptors of the Renaissance , Anton Schroll, Vienna 1921, pp. 14–21.
Giovanni Mariacher: Bono, Giovanni. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 12: Bonfadini – Borrello. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1970.

Web links

Commons : Giovanni Bon - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

↑ This altar was erected in St. Mark's Basilica against sodomy (Pietro Contarini: Dizionario tascabile delle voci e frasi particolari del dialetto veneziano colla corrispondente espressione italiana , G. Passeri Bragadin, Venice 1844, p. 59).

personal data
SURNAME	Bon, Giovanni
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Buon, Giovanni; Bono, Giovanni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian builder and sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH	before 1382
PLACE OF BIRTH	unsure: Como
DATE OF DEATH	after 1442
Place of death	Venice

[1] This altar was erected in St. Mark's Basilica against sodomy (Pietro Contarini: Dizionario tascabile delle voci e frasi particolari del dialetto veneziano colla corrispondente espressione italiana , G. Passeri Bragadin, Venice 1844, p. 59).