BECCARUZZI, Francesco

(b. ~1492 Conegliano, d. ~1563 Treviso)

Italian painter. Little of his life is known; most of his documented works were completed in the town of Conegliano, in the province of Treviso. He was probably a pupil of Pordenone, and was also influenced by the painting of Bonifacio de’Pitati, Titian and Jacopo Bassano.

There are over fifty documented works attributed to Beccaruzzi, many of which are portraits, but also some religious subjects. One of his well known religious pieces is Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, painted in 1545, and now in the Accademia in Venice. Among his other works of sacred subject the Assumption of Mary, painted between 1540 and 1544 at the Church of Valdobbiadene, can be mentioned. Of his well known portraits noteworthy is the Portrait of a Man, painted around 1550, now in the Galleria degli Uffizi.

A Ballplayer and His Page

This curious northern Italian double portrait by Francesco Beccaruzzi of Treviso presents a singularly self-assured, richly dressed athlete, bat in hand, pressing a ball upon his page’s shoulder as the latter works at lacing his master’s breeches. In the background the marketplace of Treviso can be seen.

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Portrait of a Man

Beccaruzzi belongs to the school of Treviso, although his far from well-defined personality has often resulted in his works being confused with those of more famous masters. He was in fact comparable to Pordenone, Titian and Bassano, and particularly in portrait-painting his position was always highly ambiguous, although in this male portrait, thanks to a correct range of colours, it is at least agreeable.

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