Melozzo da Forlì.
(c. 1438 -
November 8,
1494), was a famous
Italian Renaissance painter and architect, the first who practised foreshortening with much success and one of the most outstanding
fresco painters of the 15th century. He was the most important member of the
Forlì painting school.
Biography
One of Melozzo's famous angels from the Basilica dei Santi Apostoli, now in the sacristy of St. Peter's.
Melozzo came, it is supposed, of a wealthy family named Ambrosi from
Forlì. Nothing is known about his early years, and it is only a hypothesis that he formed at the
Forlivese school of art, then ruled by
Ansuino da Forlì, for they were both influenced by the
Mantegna manner.
It has been said that he became a journeyman and color-grinder to some of the best masters, in order to prosecute his studies; this lacks confirmation. His presence his first mentioned in his birthplace in 1460 and again in 1464. Around this period, together with
Antoniazzo Romano, frescoed the Bessarione chapel in the
basilica dei Santi Apostoli in
Rome. Melozzo presumably moved to in
Urbino between 1465 and 1475: here he met the highly theoretical and mathematical
Piero della Francesca, who profoundly influenced the Melozzo's style and use of perspective. He should have also studied the architectures by
Bramante and other
Flemish painters then working for the duke
Federico da Montefeltro: perhaps Melozzo worked with
Justus of Ghent and
Pedro Berruguete to the decoration of the
studiolo of the famous
Ducal Palace of the city.
In 1475 Melozzo transferred to
Rome, though some authorities claim his presence in Rome ten (or five?) years earlier to work in the
Basilica di San Marco. In 1477 he finished his first major work in the new seat, a fresco now transferred to canvas and placed in the
Pinacoteca Vaticana, representing the appointment of
Bartolomeo Platina by
Sixtus IV as librarian of the restored
Vatican Library. In the same year,
Girolamo Riario built his new palace in Rome, and Melozzo designed it: today it's named
Palazzo Altepms.
In 1478 he was one of the original members of the academy of St Luke, founded by Sixtus IV to unite the main painters working in the city.
About 1480 Melozzo was commissioned by
Pietro Riario to paint the vault of the apse in the
basilica dei Santi Apostoli in
Rome, his subject being the
Ascension. The figure of Christ is so boldly and effectively foreshortened that it seems to "burst through the vaulting"; this fresco was taken down in 1711, and the figure of Christ is now in the
Quirinal Palace; while some of the other portions, having influence on
Raphael, are in the sacristy of
St Peter's: a hall in the
Vatican Museums is designed for angels and apostles by Melozzo taken down the same fresco. Another work of the Roman period is an
Annunciation that can still be seen in the
Pantheon.
Melozzo's last work in Rome is a chapel, now destroyed, in the church of
Santa Maria in Trastevere. After the death of
Sixtus IV in 1484 he moved from Rome to
Loreto. Here he painted the fresco in the cupola of San Marco's sacristy in the basilica della Santa Casa, commissioned by cardinal
Girolamo Basso della Rovere. It is one of the first examples of a cupola decorated both with architectures and figures, with a profound influence from the
Camera Picta by
Mantegna.
In 1489 Melozzo returned in Rome. In this second period he probably drew some cartoons for the mosaics of
Jesus blessing in the St. Helen chapel of the basilica of
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
Pope Sixtus IV appoints Bartolomeo Platina prefect of the
Vatican Library, c. 1477 (fresco) (Vatican Museums)
Melozzo also painted the cupola of the Capuchin church at Forlì, destroyed in 1651; and it has been said that he executed at
Urbino some of the portraits of great men (
Plato,
Dante,
Sixtus IV, etc.) which are now divided between the
Barberini Palace and the Campana collection in
Paris. In 1493 he worked to some ceilings of the Palazzo Comunale of
Ancona, which have gone lost. Eventually Melozzo moved to Forlì, where, together with his pupil
Marco Palmezzano, decorated the Feo Chapel in the church of San Biagio, which was destroyed during
World War II. The Pinacoteca of
Forlì houses a fresco by Melozzo, termed the "Pestapepe", or Pepper-grinder, originally painted as a grocer's sign; it is an energetic specimen of rather coarse realism, now much damaged. It's the only non-religious subject by Melozzo.
Melozzo died in November 1494 in
Forlì.
Legacy
While few of Melozzo's works have been preserved until today, critics agree he contributed sensibly to the progress of pictorial art; and, without being remarkable as a colorist, gave well graded lights, with general care and finish, and fine dignified figures. His works bear a certain resemblance to those of his contemporary
Mantegna.
Marco Palmezzano was his pupil; and the signature "Marcus de Melotius" on some of Palmezzano's works, along with the general affinity of style, has led to their being ascribed to Melozzo, who has hence been incorrectly called "Marco Melozzo".
Melozzo's painting strongly influed
Michelangelo,
Raphael and
Donato Bramante.
Partial anthology of works
