Vittore Carpaccio

Carpaccio Vittore was born in Venice in about 1465.
He trained in Venice in the second half of the XV century, where the influence of the Humanist movement was strong.However, his style was very personal and somewhat conservative, showing little influence from the Humanist trends of the time. He preferred painting the lives of saints as shown by his many temperas on canvas.
The first temperas on canvas were the Legend of St Ursula, painted for the chapel of the school of that name, started in 1490. Some of the scenes included are: the Martyrdom of St Ursula, the return of the English ambassadors, Farewell of St Ursula and Hereus and the Pilgrims’ departure, Arrival in Rome. These paintings are set in Venice but the depicted city was imaginary, even if the architecture of the buildings bears a close resemblance to the architecture of the real city’s buildings. The scenes are flooded with clear and crystalline light.
Between1501 and 1502 he painted some more temperas on canvas in the Palazzo Ducale (nothing remains of them) for the Pregadi Hall and the Major Council Hall. He then painted a number of temperas on canvas for the School of S. Giorgio degli Schiavoni with the Life of St George, St Jerome, St Tryphon and two stories from the Bible: the Calling of S. Matthew and Prayer in the garden.
Other paintings from this period are the so-called ‘Cortigiane’ and the Portrait of a Knight.
In his later years he accepted commissions from provincial areas – the altar pieces of St Peter Martyr in Murano and of S.Maria in Vado of Ferrara are examples. He painted the altarpeice and the organ doors for the duomo of Capodistria, where he lived till 1526.

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