Acclaimed as one of the best portraitists of all time, Giovan Battista Moroni (15221579) is renowned for his penetrating images of the aristocracy of Bergamo, in which the sitters often gaze at the spectator with an unflinching directness. Widely admired in Italy from the sixteenth century onwards, when Titian is said to have praised his portraits, Moroni did not achieve an international reputation until the nineteenth century, and remains relatively little known. This handsome catalogue encompasses Moronis entire career. It includes Moronis portraits of all formats and styles, demonstrating not just his brilliance at capturing the elegance of his sitters and the fashions of the time, but also showing the artists realistic representation of Bergamos society, which later became a model for Caravaggio. In addition to his portraits, the volume includes many of Moronis religious paintings, themselves often incorporating highly accomplished likenesses of their patrons, once again showing the striking psychological insight for which Moroni is acclaimed.
