An Apprenticeship in Venice
At the end of the 17th Century, the Venetian School had only just begun its evolution towards a more luminous style of painting which, in the hands of Sebastiano Ricci, Tiepolo and others, would give it a prestige equalling that achieved by the great painters of the Renaissance. Nevertheless, Venice was an extremely lively centre, with Venetian and foreign painters sharing commissions from the churches and the aristocracy. Sebastiano Bombelli, to whom Fra'Galgario was apprenticed, enjoyed a status which was almost that of official portrait painter.
In his ceremonial portraits, he used sumptuous lacquers for reds. Fra'Galgario showed a sensitivity to these researches into pictorial technique and this taste for fabrics and draperies. He also compiled an address book for himself. The departure of our painter from Venice would seem to be due to his growing success and Bombelli's jealousy. We have no undisputed works from these long stays in Venice.
Several hypotheses have been put forward about portraits which testify to Venice's international influence (a portrait of Cassana painted in Constantinople and portraits of the Bohemian Kupezky and the Dutchman Van de Kerckhoven).
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