Macrino d'Alba (c. 1460–1465 – c. 1510–1520) was an Italian painter of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
period, active mainly in
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, who is known for his altarpieces and portraits. His birth name was ''Gian Giacomo de' Alladio''.
Life
The lack of documentary sources on Macrino who is believed to have been born in
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...
has led in the past to many dubious attributions of works from the Piedmont area to this painter. A more thorough critique has allowed to lift some of the uncertainty about his biography. It is now known that he was in fact called Gian Giacomo de 'Alladio and was nicknamed 'Macrino' probably because of his slim and gaunt build. His
''Self-portrait'' (Torino, Museo Civico d'Arte Antica) does not throw much light on the question of his build. He was a descendant of a family with some social status in
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...
.
[Macrino d'Alba]
on the site of the Associazione Centro Studi di Letteratura, Storia, Arte e Cultura "Beppe Fenoglio" o.n.l.u.s.
Nothing is known about his artistic training in his native city and he may well have trained elsewhere. It is believed he was in Rome around 1490. Even so, the actual formation of Macrino was obtained from his study of Tuscan and Umbrian masters such as
Luca Signorelli and
Perugino
Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous ...
who worked at the papal seat.
Work
Macrino was an eminently eclectic painter and an extraordinary assimilator of aesthetic trends that had developed in Rome and Tuscany and had given birth to the Italian Renaissance.
[
His work shows in particular a stylistic affinity with that of ]Pinturicchio
Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian Renaissance painter. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his small stature a ...
, which has given rise to the hypothesis that Macrino frequented his workshop. There he must have learned the use of bright colours and the placing of his scenes among bold Renaissance architecture and landscapes rich in Roman ruins and "antiques". Also on the technical plan the use of hatching with a very lean tempera layer under a detailed design made by brush was probably learned from Pinturicchio.
He painted the ''Resurrection'' for the chapel of ''Sant’Ugone'' at the Certosa di Pavia. He also painted in the church of San Francesco at Alba and worked in the Vigevano Cathedral
Vigevano Cathedral (, ''Cattedrale di Sant'Ambrogio'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Ambrose and located in the Piazza Ducale of Vigevano, Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Vigevano. The present building dates from the 16t ...
. He achieved an artistic high-point in the altarpiece of the ''Virgin Enthroned between SS John the Baptist and James, a Bishop Saint and St Jerome'' (1503, Casale Monferrato, Santuario Crea). The composition is sober and dignified, full of light and colour.[Riccardo Passoni. "Alba, Macrino d’." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 16 Mar. 2016]
References
Further reading
*
*’’Macrino de Alladio (Macrino d'Alba), G. B. Rossi. The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 1909 113-115.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macrino dAlba
1460s births
16th-century deaths
People from Alba, Piedmont
15th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
16th-century Italian painters
Italian Renaissance painters
