Marco Zoppo

Marco Zoppo , born as Marco di Antonio Ruggiero , also Marco il Zoppo , Marco Zoppo da Bologna , Marco Zoppo di Squarcione (* 1433 in Cento ; † February 19, 1478 in Venice ) was an Italian painter and probably also a sculptor.

Life

Marco Zoppo, Maria lactans

Little is known about Zoppo's early work. He grew up in Cento and was apparently interested in art from an early age. Due to an infirmity, he was given the artist name "il Zoppo" (the lame), with which he began to sign his works. With whom he learned his trade is not known. In addition to painting, he must have dealt with plastic work at an early age. His first verifiable work from 1452 is the repair and gilding of a statue of "Mary with the Child" from the 14th century.

With the intention of further developing himself artistically, he went to Padua the following year , where he was accepted into the workshop of Francesco Squarcione in April 1454 due to his talent . There Zoppo came into contact with the works of Donatello and Andrea Mantegna , whose skills impressed him that he wrote in a letter in 1462: "It would be satisfying for me to produce such things that can stand alongside his works."

Here he carried out a number of paintings and probably also plastic works on behalf of Squarcione. In order to secure his services in the long term, Zoppo was adopted by Francesco Squarcione in May 1455. In the same year, however, he recognized the evil machinations that deprived him of the wages he had earned for his work. Annoyed, Zoppo had the adoption canceled in October 1455 and left Padua for Venice. Little is known about his stay there, but analyzes of the works of that time suggest that he now increasingly oriented himself towards the artists Jacopo Bellini , Andrea del Castagno and Bartolomeo Vivarini who worked there . He must have gone to Bologna by 1462 at the latest , where he is documented for this time. The way there most likely took him via Ferrara , where he could study the works of Piero della Francesca there. From then on the influences can be demonstrated in his works.

In 1471 at the latest, but probably as early as 1466/67, Zoppo returned to Venice, where he was now increasingly influenced by Giovanni Bellini . Encouraged by his father Jacopo, Zoppo began to make drawings, a large number of which have survived. In the last years of his life he was still enthusiastic about the art of Antonello da Messina , whose work also made a lasting impression on his last works.

While a large number of paintings and drawings have survived to this day, the presumed sculptural work of Zoppos is still in the dark.

Works (selection)

• Altenburg, Lindenau Museum
  • Maria with the child.
• Gemäldegalerie (Berlin)
  • Mary with the Child and Saints John the Baptist, Francis of Assisi, Paul and Jerome, 1471
• Baltimore, Walters Art Museum
  • Saint Jerome.
• Bologna, Collegio di Spagna
  • Mary with the child between Saints Jerome, John the Evangelist, Andrew and Augustine.
• Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
  • Saint Jerome in the wilderness, around 1470
• Bologna, Museum of the San Giuseppe Sposo Monastery
  • Crucifix.
• Bucharest, Muzeul de Arta
  • Mary enthroned with the child and saints.
• Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland
  • Noli me tangere.
• London, Courtauld Institute of Art
  • Saint Sebastian in a mountainous landscape with Saints Hieronymus, Antonius Abbot and Christopherus, around 1475–1478
• National Gallery (London)
  • The body of Christ between two saints, around 1465
  • A holy bishop, around 1468
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • The shot of the father's corpse, around 1462 (fragment)
• Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
  • Saint Jerome in the wilderness, around 1460–1470
• New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • A son who refuses to shoot his father's corpse, around 1462 (fragment)
• Oxford, Ashmolean Museum
  • Saint Peter, around 1468
  • Saint Paul, around 1470
• Paris, Musee du National du Louvre
  • Mary with the Child, surrounded by angels , 1455
• Pesaro, Museo Civico
  • The dead Christ held by two angels (Pietà), 1471
  • Head of John the Baptist. (attributed)
• Vaduz, collections of the ruling Prince of Liechtenstein
  • Christ crowned with thorns under an arch.
• Washington, National Gallery of Art
  • Maria with the child , around 1467/68 (attributed)
  • Saint Peter, around 1468
• Vienna, Art History Museum
  • Enthroned Mary with the child and a lily adored by two angels
  • Four angels with the body of Christ (auctioned on January 30, 1998 at Sotheby's in New York)
  • Maria with the child (attributed - auctioned on March 17, 2005 at Nagel in Stuttgart)

literature

• Kindler's Malereilexikon , Zurich 1964–1971
• Lilian Armstrong: The paintings and drawings of Marco Zoppo . Garland, New York NY et al. 1976, ISBN 0-8240-1976-8 , ( Outstanding dissertations in the fine arts ), (Also: Columbia, Univ., Diss.).
• Berenice Giovannucci Vigi (Ed.): Marco Zoppo e il suo tempo . Nuova Alfa, Bologna 1993, ISBN 88-7779-389-9 .

Web links

Commons : Marco Zoppo  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Marco Zoppo - artist - about 1432 - about 1478 - National Gallery, London. In: nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved December 30, 2016 .