Francesco Rizzo da Santacroce

(active Bergamo and Venice circa 1505–1545)
Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, Saint Mark the Evangelist and Saint Catherine of Alexandria,
oil on panel, 67.5 x 99 cm, framed
Francesco Rizzo, documented from 1505 to 1545, belonged to a family of painters that came from Santa Croce near Bergamo who were active in Venice. Here the artist is documented as active in the studio of his compatriot Francesco di Simone da Santacroce. Francesco Rizzo became his master’s closest collaborator and at his death the master left him his studio, and all the working materials contained therein ‘so that he would have reason to persevere and progress in said art’ [‘affinché abbia un motivo per perseverare e progredire nella suddetta arte’] (see E. W. Rowlands, ‘Raffazzonando con qualche gusto e con buona pratica’. Le opere tarde di Francesco Rizzo da Santacroce, in: Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell’arte, vol. 23, 1999, p. 13).

In Venice the painter absorbed the influence of another compatriot, Palma il Vecchio, and he worked at re-elaborating the models of Andrea Mantegna and especially the Sacre Conversazioni of Giovanni Bellini, that left an indelible mark on the style of devotional painting in Venice. This close adhesion to the pictorial language of Bellini, and his typically Venetian palette, were a strong source of inspiration for Francesco Rizzo, and they are foundational to his works, including the present painting.

The Apparition of the Risen Christ now in the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, by Francesco Rizzo da Santacroce was executed for the church of the Gesuati, Venice, in 1513. Among his other significant works are: the Circumcision in the church of San Zaccaria, Venice, and that of the same subject, which is signed, in the Carrara di Bergamo as well as the Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine in the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona.
Specialist: Mark MacDonnell