Bought from the Mattei family in Rome in 1802, this is a good quality picture from Jacopo Bassano?s workshop. The studio included his three painter sons, Francesco, Leandro and Gerolamo and this work has, at various stages, been attributed to each of them, although the style seems closest to Francesco. A pendant painting from the same source depicting the parable of `Lazarus at the Feast of Dives? is in a Scottish private collection.
Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) (Italian (Venetian), about 1510 - 1592)
Jacopo dal Ponte was named Bassano after his native town of Bassano del Grappa, near Venice. Born into a family of painters he received his initial training from his father and then studied in Venice. He became close friends with Tintoretto and Veronese. He returned to Bassano and ran the family workshop producing altarpieces, paintings of Biblical stories, some portraits and designs for a wide range of items including processional banners. He collected and made extensive use of prints as a resource for his compositions. Bassano favoured lively, crowded scenes full of naturalistic detail.
