Esteemed painter left his mark on Bergamo and its province
Francesco
Zucco, who was a prolific painter in the Baroque style in the late 16th and
early 17th centuries, died on this day in 1627 in Bergamo.
Zucco
painted both secular and religious subjects after he had trained as an artist
and learnt about technique from other Bergamo painters, such as Giovanni Paolo
Cavagna and Enea Salmeggia. Art critics have compared the quality and style of
his portrait painting with that of Veronese, whose real name was Paolo Caliari,
and the portrait painter Giovan Battista Moroni.
Francesco
Zucco was born at some time between 1570 and 1575 in Bergamo. He is known to
have studied art at the workshop of the Campi brothers in Cremona and afterwards
returned to live in his native city, where he associated with other painters
working in Bergamo at the time.
Even if he
was never a pupil of the Bergamo portrait painter Giovan Battista Moroni, art
experts believe Zucco must have studied Moroni’s works closely. He also formed
strong personal links with Cavagna and Salmeggia. They all lived close to each
other in Borgo San Leonardo, in the Città Bassa.
As he
matured, Zucco began to dominate the artistic scene in Bergamo and painted many
religious works of art. His success began in 1592 with his painting, La circoncisione
di Gesù, the Circumcision of Jesus, for a
church in Stezzano in the province of Bergamo. It was a work that revealed
signs of the training he had received from the Campi brothers at their workshop
in Cremona.
The
following year, Zucco painted Vergine con bambino e santi, Virgin with baby and
saints, and L’adorazione dei Magi, the adoration of the Magi, for the Church of
Santi Pietro e Paolo, in Levate in the province of Bergamo. The painting of the
Magi was signed Franciscus Zucchis 1593, indicating that he had already
achieved some artistic fame. His style was similar to that of Moroni, while
maintaining the strength of design reminiscent of the Campi brothers.
Zucco then
received numerous commissions that gave him the chance to perfect his own
style. Among the many works he executed towards the end of the 16th century is
a Vergine con bambino, Virgin with child, for the church at Orio al Serio, a comune
of Bergamo that is well known to millions of
visitors to Italy because of its airport.
In subsequent
years, there were many paintings for other churches in the province but, in
Bergamo itself, Zucco painted for the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the Basilica
di Santa Maria Maggiore and the Monastero di Astino.
For his own
local church, Sant’Alessandro in Colonna in Via Sant’Alessandro, which is named
after Bergamo’s patron saint and was near
where he lived in Bergamo, Zucco painted a Cycle of the life of Sant’Alessandro.
The church also has his last known painting, Sant’Alessandro si presenta ad un
Vescovo, Saint Alexander is presented to a Bishop, which was dated 1627.
A Roman
column in front of Sant’Alessandro in Colonna is believed to mark the exact spot
where Bergamo’s patron saint was martyred by the Romans for refusing to
renounce his Christian faith. The column in Via Sant’Alessandro was constructed
in the 17th century from Roman fragments and every year on 26 August, the city
of Bergamo remembers their saint’s decapitation there in 303. Sant’Alessandro
in Colonna was rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of an earlier church and
its ornate campanile was completed at the beginning of the 20th century.
The church
houses work by Francesco Zucco, as well as a work depicting the martyrdom of Sant’Alessandro
by Enea Salmeggia, and one showing the transporting of Sant’Alessandro’s corpse
by Gian Paolo Cavagna. It also contains paintings by Lorenzo Lotto and
Romanino.
Zucco
married Aurelia Chiesa and they had three children, Bartolomeo Carlo, born in
1617, and Margherita and Giovanni Battista, who were born in 1623. Sadly, Zucco
did not live long enough to see his children grow up. He died on 3 May 1627 at
his home in Bergamo.
Examples of
his religious paintings can still be seen in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore
in the Città Alta in Bergamo and in many other
churches throughout the province of Bergamo. The Accademia Cararra in Bergamo
have some of his portraits on display, such as the acclaimed Ritratto del
gentildonna gravida, Portrait of an expectant gentlewoman.
The Accademia Carrara, a palace filled with art
treasures, is just outside the Città Alta in Piazza Giacomo
Cararra. The palace was built in the 18th century to house one of the richest private
collections of art in Italy and now houses some of the portraits painted by
Francesco Zucco. It is the only Italian museum to be entirely stocked with
donations and bequests from private collectors.
It was established in Bergamo
in 1794 as a combined Pinacoteca and School of Painting, on the initiative of
Bergamo aristocrat Count Giacomo Carrara. In addition to his collection of
paintings, he left his entire estate to the Accademia to secure its future. The
number and quality of works on display in the gallery has steadily increased over
the years, thanks to donations and bequests from private collectors.
