Melozzo da Forlì ( – 8 November 1494) was an
Italian Renaissance painter and
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
. His
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
paintings are notable for the use of
foreshortening
Linear or point-projection perspective () is one of two types of 3D projection, graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, generally on a fla ...
. He was the most important member of the
Forlì painting school.
Biography
Melozzo was supposedly from a wealthy family named Ambrosi from
Forlì
Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...
. Nothing is known about his early years. It is only a hypothesis
[The theory is credited to Luigi Lanzi. See ] that he was formed by the
Forlivese school of art, then dominated by
Ansuino da Forlì; both were influenced by
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.
Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...
. It has been said, also without confirmation, that he became a journeyman and color-grinder to master painters. His presence was first mentioned in his birthplace in 1460 and again in 1464. Around this period, and together with
Antoniazzo Romano, he painted frescoes in the Bessarione chapel in the
Basilica dei Santi Apostoli in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. Melozzo then moved to
Urbino
Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...
, probably between 1465 and 1474. There he met
Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca ( , ; ; ; – 12 October 1492) was an Italian Renaissance painter, Italian painter, mathematician and List of geometers, geometer of the Early Renaissance, nowadays chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting is charact ...
, who profoundly influenced Melozzo's style and use of perspective. He would have also studied architecture by
Bramante
Donato Bramante (1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rom ...
and the work of
Flemish painters then working for duke
Federico da Montefeltro
Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro Order of the Garter, KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottiero, condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and Duk ...
. Melozzo may have worked with
Justus of Ghent
Justus van Gent or Joos van Wassenhove () was an Early Netherlandish painter, perhaps from Ghent, who after training and working in Flanders later moved to Italy where he worked for Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino, and was known as Gius ...
and
Pedro Berruguete
Pedro Berruguete (c. 1450 – 1504) was a Spanish painter whose art is regarded as a transitional style between Gothic art, Gothic and Renaissance art. Berruguete most famously created paintings of the first few years of the Inquisition and of ...
to decorate the ''
studiolo'' of the city's famous
Ducal Palace.
Around 1472-74, Melozzo transferred to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, although some authorities claim his presence in Rome five or ten years earlier for 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 ''
Sixtus IV Appointing Platina as Librarian of the Vatican Library''. In the same year
Girolamo Riario built his palace in Rome, now known as
Palazzo Altemps, with designs by Melozzo. In 1478, he was one of the original members of the
Academy of St Luke
The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...
, founded by Sixtus IV to unite the chief painters working in the city.
In about 1472-74, Melozzo was commissioned by
Pietro Riario
Pietro Riario (1445 – 3 January 1474) was an Italian cardinal (Catholic), cardinal and Papal diplomat.
Biography
Born in Savona, he was the son of Paolo Riario and Pope Sixtus IVs' sister, Bianca Della Rovere. Sixtus nominated him bishop of T ...
to paint the vault of the apse in the
basilica dei Santi Apostoli in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, his subject being the
Ascension of Christ. In this work, Christ is boldly and effectively
foreshortened. This fresco was taken down in 1711. The figure of Christ is now in the
Quirinal Palace
The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outs ...
; some of the other portions, which influenced
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, are in the sacristy of
St Peter's. A hall in the
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...
, with designs of angels and apostles by Melozzo, was taken from 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 was a chapel, now destroyed, in the church of
Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere () or Our Lady in Trastevere is a titulus (Roman Catholic), titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the ...
. After the death of
Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...
in 1484, Melozzo moved from Rome to
Loreto. There he painted the fresco in the cupola of the sacristy of San Marco in the
Basilica della Santa Casa
The Basilica della Santa Casa () is a Marian shrine in Loreto, Marche, Loreto, in Marche, the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pious legen ...
, commissioned by cardinal
Girolamo Basso della Rovere. It is one of the first examples of a cupola decorated both with architecture and figures; it greatly influenced the
Camera degli Sposi by
Mantegna.
In 1489 Melozzo returned to Rome. During this period he probably drew some cartoons for the mosaics of ''Jesus blessing'' in the Chapel of St Helena of the basilica of
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
Melozzo also painted the cupola of the Capuchin church at Forlì, which was destroyed in 1651. It has been said that he executed at
Urbino
Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...
some of the portraits of great men (
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
,
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
,
Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...
, ''et al'') which are now divided between the
Barberini Palace and the Campana collection in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. In 1493, he worked on some ceilings, now lost, of the Palazzo Comunale of
Ancona
Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
. Eventually Melozzo returned to Forlì, where, together with his pupil
Marco Palmezzano
Marco Palmezzano (1460–1539) was an Italian painter and architect, belonging to the Forlì painting school, who painted in a style recalling earlier Northern Renaissance models. He was mostly active near Forlì.
Biography
Palmezzano was ...
, he decorated the Feo Chapel in the church of San Biagio, which was destroyed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Pinacoteca of
Forlì
Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...
houses a fresco by Melozzo, known as the "Pestapepe," or Pepper-grinder, now much damaged. Originally painted as a grocer's sign, it is an energetic example of rather coarse realism and is Melozzo's only secular subject.
Melozzo died in November 1494 in
Forlì
Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...
and is buried in the Church of the Santissima Trinita (Most Holy Trinity).
Legacy
While few of Melozzo's works are still preserved, critics agree that he contributed to the progress of pictorial art. Without being remarkable as a colorist, he painted with care and finish, creating fine and dignified figures. His use of perspective influenced other painters. Melozzo's works bear a certain resemblance to those of his contemporary
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.
Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...
.
Marco Palmezzano
Marco Palmezzano (1460–1539) was an Italian painter and architect, belonging to the Forlì painting school, who painted in a style recalling earlier Northern Renaissance models. He was mostly active near Forlì.
Biography
Palmezzano was ...
was a pupil of Melozzo. The signature "Marcus de Melotius" on some of Palmezzano's works, along with a general affinity of style, has led to their being ascribed to Melozzo and to the latter being incorrectly named "Marco Melozzo". The paintings of Melozzo strongly influenced Michelangelo,
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
and
Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante (1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rom ...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forli, Melozzo Da
1430s births
1494 deaths
15th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
Italian Renaissance painters
People from Forlì
Year of birth uncertain
Fresco painters