Paolo Morando

Paolo Morando (1486–1522), also known as il Cavazzola, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in his hometown of Verona. He appears to have been a pupil of Domenico Morone and his son Francesco Morone. He painted in a style resembling that of Giorgione.

He first trained in the bottega of Domenico Morone and later in that of his son, Francesco. His first documented work dates to 1508: it is a Madonna and Child, now preserved in the Castelvecchio Museum. In 1514 he collaborated on the decoration of the San Biagio Chapel in the Church of Saints Nazaro and Celso in Verona, where he showed that he had already reached a pictorial maturity independent of his masters’ teaching.

His masterpiece, however, was created in 1517, when the Compagnia della Croce commissioned him to paint the Polyptych of the Passion for the Church of San Bernardino in Verona. This polyptych, consisting of five canvases and a predella with four panels, shows a skillful combination of the different artistic currents popular in Verona at the time. In addition to the usual references to Venetian and Lombard masters, one can note the influences of Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Giovan Francesco Caroto, and even suggestions from Northern Europe.

In the following years, Morando went through a particularly prolific period, alternating works of sacred art with portrait painting. His lively artistic activity came to an abrupt end on 13 August 1522, when death overtook him while still young. His last known work, the Altarpiece of the Virtues, is considered one of his finest canvases. Besides his native city, his works are today displayed in numerous museums across Europe.

Biography Birth and training

Paolo Morando, nicknamed "Cavazzòla" like his father, was born in Verona between 1486 and 1488. His father, Taddeo Morando, was a cloth merchant, a pezarolus in the terminology of the time. The Morando family probably lived in the contrada of San Vitale in Verona, an area mainly inhabited by textile workers, but later moved to the contrada of San Paolo. Paolo lived with his parents until 1517. His personal life is little known, and the available information comes mainly from the biography written by Giorgio Vasari in Le Vite, where he is described as a «young man of excellent character and without any blemish of vice».

His artistic training began in the workshop of Domenico Morone, where he came into contact with other painters such as Girolamo dai Libri and Michele da Verona. He later continued his apprenticeship with Francesco Morone, Domenico’s son. From the Morones he mainly learned the bright, reddish tonalities and the attention to luminosity.

Also at the National Gallery, a Saint Roch of 1518 «documents the beginning of the artist’s later period», in which the «Venetian yellow tones replaced the cooler Lombard colors he had used before», and in which Morando managed to give «a new, almost dramatic depth to the expression». Originally part of a triptych, created for the Church of Santa Maria della Scala in his native city, the work also included a Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by Girolamo dai Libri and a Saint Sebastian (now lost) by Francesco Torbido. ).

Even at a young age, he managed to develop a personal style, freeing himself from the influence of his masters, Domenico and Francesco Morone. He probably travelled outside Verona, which allowed him to encounter other artistic currents and enrich his development. His mature works reveal a monumental approach unprecedented in the Veronese context, distancing themselves from the hieratic and solemn tone typical of Domenico Morone’s painting. Although he emancipated himself from some of his masters’ stylistic features, Morando was unable to fully abandon a certain static quality, a legacy of Francesco Morone’s school that limited him to depicting simple and clearly defined movements, involving a small number of figures. Nevertheless, he was the first Veronese painter to successfully attempt large-scale action scenes.

Major works

Below is a non-exhaustive list of Paolo Morando’s main works:

Annunciation, 1510, San Biagio Chapel in the church of Santi Nazaro e Celso, Verona Descent of the Holy Spirit, 1509–1510, Miniscalchi Chapel, Basilica of Santa Anastasia, Verona Incredulity of Saint Thomas, c. 1518–1519, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Saints Peter and John the Baptist, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Archangel Michael and Saint Paul, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John the Baptist (also known as Madonna of the Goldfinch), Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Virgin and Child with the Baptist and an Angel, c. 1514–1518, National Gallery, London Madonna and Child, before 1508, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Virgin and Child Reading, 1509, Villa Cagnola, Varese Virgin and Child with Saints Benedict Abbot and John the Baptist, c. 1505–1515, Church of Saints Vito, Modesto and Crescenzia, Badia Calavena Altarpiece of the Virtues, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Polyptych of the Passion, 1517, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Predella of the Polyptych of the Passion, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Portrait of a Lady, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo Portrait of a Warrior with his Squire, c. 1518–22, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, (also attributed to Giorgione, with a dating around 1500–1510) Portrait of a Man, 1518, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden Saint Damian, Palazzo Chiericati, Vicenza Saint Francis Giving the Rule to the Poor Clares, Castelvecchio Museum, Verona Samson and Delilah, c. 1510–1520, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan Virgin and Child, 1518, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan