Italian painter, active in Venice. In his early maturity, Bastiani can be described as close to the manner of Bartolomeo Vivarini and Andrea del Castagno. Subsequently, his painting moved nearer to that of Gentile Bellini, albeit in a more archaising taste, as may be observed in the almost rigid figures and the strictly defined and delimited spaces.
In the second half of the fourteenth century, Augustinian nuns erected a church in the district of Cannareggio in Venice and dedicated the sacristy and a confraternity to St Jerome. They ambitiously decorated their headquarter with paintings depicting episodes from the life of the titular saint. Bastiani’s contribution to the cycle consisted of two huge canvases, the Communion of St Jerome, and the Funeral of St Jerome.
In the Communion of St Jerome, the saint is kneeling in his cell, as is confirmed by his bed, the open book, the crucifix, and the scourge. He is supported by his friend and disciple Eusebius and surrounded by the brethren. A pillar defines another scene. In the cloister of the monastery in Jerusalem, Jerome faces a person in eastern attire while he walks in the garden with another individual dressed in the Greek style, which may allude to his battle against heresy. The huge tree in the foreground is a symbol of salvation and life, while in the background, the hills, the battlements, and the well, although drawn from real life, are Marian symbols designed to inspire the devout to meditation and silent prayer. On the right, the quail represent the church, and the lion, the usual attribute of the saint, also belongs to St Mark and thus to the Venetian Republic.
In the second half of the fourteenth century, Augustinian nuns erected a church in the district of Cannareggio in Venice and dedicated the sacristy and a confraternity to St Jerome. They ambitiously decorated their headquarter with paintings depicting episodes from the life of the titular saint. Bastiani’s contribution to the cycle consisted of two huge canvases, the Communion of St Jerome, and the Funeral of St Jerome.
The subject of the last scene of the cycle, the Funeral of St Jerome, recalls one of the nuns’ main duties, assisting the dying and burying the dead. The Marian symbols in this scene confirm the importance attributed to Jerome in the Marian tradition, since he effectively defended Mary’s virginity.
This enigmatic Madonna and Child is still rooted in the style of Jacopo Bellini. The painting is sometimes given to one of three pupils of Squarcione - Giorgio Schiavone, Marco Zoppo, or Mantegna. Putti painted on the picture’s original frame continue the Madonna’s mournful message: they hold the instruments of the Passion, each group separated by clusters of cherub heads.
In this composition the theme of the Madonna of Humility is enriched with several iconagraphic motifs ranging from angels crowning the Virgin to God the Father, who appears with the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, alluding to the Holy Trinity. The angels in the foreground play the lute and the lira da braccio, while those in the background blow trumpets and recorders.
The painting shows the influence of Antonio Vivarini, whose workshop Bastiani spent his formative years, and of Giovanni Bellini.
The great masters of Venetian painting often turned their hands to other art forms. The cartoon of this tapestry was designed by Lazzaro Bastiani. The tapestry drapes the altar of the Sacristy in Santa Maria della Salute.
This is one of the three predella panels of the of the altarpiece of St Jerome, which was executed for the Duomo (Cathedral) of Asolo. The central panel of the altarpiece remained in the cathedral.
This is one of the three predella panels of the of the altarpiece of St Jerome, which was executed for the Duomo (Cathedral) of Asolo. The central panel of the altarpiece remained in the cathedral.
The painting was originally in the church of Corpus Domini in Venice, where the body of the saint is preserved.
This is one of the three predella panels of the of the altarpiece of St Jerome, which was executed for the Duomo (Cathedral) of Asolo. The central panel of the altarpiece remained in the cathedral.
The Confraternity of the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice called upon the most respected Venetian painters of the period, including Pietro Perugino, Vittore Carpaccio, Gentile Bellini, Giovanni Mansueti, Lazzaro Bastiani and Benedetto Diana to paint nine canvases for the Great Hall of their headquarters showing the Miracles of the Holy Cross, the story of the miracles performed by the fragment of wood from the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. This fragment had been donated to the brotherhood in 1369 by Philip de Mezi�res, Chancellor of the Kingdom of Cyprus and Jerusalem, and had soon become an object of great veneration and the symbol of the Scuola, one of the most important and wealthy Venetian confraternities.
The canvas painted by Perugino has been lost, but the eight surviving paintings executed between 1496 and 1501, contain depictions of some of the most famous parts of Venice. Since the imposing series of pictures (known as ‘teleri’) are all in the Accademia now it is easy to compare them.
This canvas depicts the most important moment in the history of the relic of the Holy Cross: the ceremony at which it was offered to the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista by Philippe de M�zi�res in 1369. The event, which takes place inside the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, is seen from outside and documents the appearence, today completely changed, of one of the most typical architectural features of Venice: the brick building, fronted by a portico decorated with frescos and surmounted by a terrace with a richly ornamented surrounding balustrade, which contained the cemetery. Inside the church the polygonal apse can be glimpsed, together with tall, narrow windows and on the altar a polyptych which is nery reminiscent of the one included by Gentile Bellini in his painting of the ‘Miraculous Healing of Pietro de’ Ludovici’. In this ‘telero’ Lazzaro Bastiani was evidently attempting to emulate the choral grandeur achieved by Gentile Bellini and the fascinating evocation of Vittore Carpaccio. But his interpretation of the Venice of the time remains little more than prosaic and rather suggests an analytical report. The interest of the painting therefore lies principally in its value as an irreplaceable historical document offering evidence of an urban Venice which has now disappeared for ever.
This painting is notable for its representation of everyday life.
This painting is interesting for Venetian life and dress in the 15th century. In the background are the two columns with the lion of St Mark and the statue of St Theodore, the first patron of the city.
