More about Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
Works by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
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Cima de Conegliano is the best Venetian Renaissance painter you've never heard of.
Cima's life is proof that sometimes, no matter what, you're going to get screwed. Despite being one of the most revered artists of his generation, bringing the Venetian style inland to conquer all others, and having more masterpiece altarpieces available for us to gawk at than any of his contemporaries, everyone forgot about Cima. Why? It's a saturated market, bruh. Nobody's going to talk about or study Cima when they can talk about and study the likes of Titian.
Cima, whose full name was Giovanni Battista Cima, really loved to paint a landscape. Anytime he got a commission, which were usually for altarpieces or private devotional images of saints or the Madonna, he'd try and finagle a wide-angle view in there. He was born in a mountain town called Conegliano to rich parents that dealt in textile manufacturing. They bought his way into a great education that culminated in a move to the big cit of Venice and training by Giovanni Bellini. If anything cool happened to him like his contemporaries, like get accused of sodomy or summon demons in the Colosseum, then we don't know about it yet. Guy liked to paint Madonnas and travel to his hometown for vacation.
Most importantly, the region of Conegliano is known best for one product: Prosecco. It's an Italian dry bubbly white wine, similar to champagne. One modern producer based in Conegliano has traded in on the trademark- and copyright-free use of Cima's name for their brand. The tasting notes say it's light and fruity (which usually means bland), and good for a brunch type situation. So the next time you're having that day-drinking excuse of a bacchanal known as brunch, demand Cima da Conegliano prosecco or refuse to pay the bill (WARNING: may result in a bad time).
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Cima da Conegliano
Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (c. 1459 – c. 1517), was an Italian Renaissance painter, who mostly worked in Venice. He can be considered part of the Venetian school, though he was also influenced by Antonello da Messina, in the emphasis he gives to landscape backgrounds and the tranquil atmosphere of his works.
Once formed his style did not change greatly. He mostly painted religious subjects, often on a small scale for homes rather than churches, but also a few, mostly small, mythological ones. He often repeated popular subjects in different versions with slight variations, including his Madonnas and Saint Jerome in a Landscape. His paintings of the Madonna and Child include several variations of a composition that have a standing infant Jesus, which in turn are repeated several times.
Check out the full Wikipedia article about Cima da Conegliano
