Bonifacio's enterprise: Bonifacio de'Pitati and Venetian painting

Abstract

This dissertation takes the form of a chronologically arranged, biographical survey of the career of Bonifacio de' Pitati in the form of seven interconnected essays that address areas in which the artist's impact and contribution to Venetian painting is in need of definition. These chapters are in turn subordinate to a format that splits itself into the following three parts: Part One deals with Bonifacio the artist; his life, reputation and his early emergence from Palma's studio: In summarising the archival and critical heritage, Chapter One addresses the changing identity and reputation of the artist. Chapter Two investigates Bonifacio's early career and his sustained affiliation to his master, Palma Vecchio. Part Two provides an anatomy of Bonifacio's workshop and the key commissions upon which it was engaged: Chapter Three discusses Bonifacio's production of sacre conversazioni, while Chapter Four reconstructs Bonifacio's contribution to the decoration of the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, the site of the Venetian Treasury. Chapter Five further investigates the artist's workshop production, his commercial identity and business strategy. Part Three deals with Bonifacio's artistic legacy and the influence he exerted over a number of disciples who flourished during his later years and after his death: Chapter Five analyses the evidence for Bonifacio's role in the early careers of Tintoretto and his contemporaries, while Chapter Seven addresses Bonifacio's late work, the unravelling of his enterprise and his relationship to his artistic descendants. A conclusion is provided, alongside a series of appendices which include a register of documents, an inventory of paintings originally in the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi and a discussion of Bonifacio's career as a portraitist.