PALMA, JACOPO

yäˈkōpō pälˈmä, c.1480–1528, Venetian painter, called Palma Vecchio. He formed his style under the influence of Giovanni Bellini, Titian, and Giorgione and ranks as one of the foremost masters of his school. His pictures are notable for their brilliant coloring and lighting and for their idyllic landscape backgrounds. He is also known for his portraits of women, of which there is a splendid series in the Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna. He left more than 40 unfinished works, which were completed by his numerous pupils. Among the most important of Palma Vecchio's works are many of his favorite subject, Sacra Conversazione (the Madonna and Child with saints), examples of which are in Naples, Vienna, and Venice; an altarpiece, with a figure of St. Barbara (Church of Santa Maria Formosa, Venice); The Virgin Enthroned (Church of San Stefano, Vicenza); Christ and the Adulteress and St. Peter Enthroned (Venice Acad.); Adoration of the Shepherds (Louvre); portraits in the National Gallery, London; and St. Peter Presenting a Worshiper to the Infant Christ (Palazzo Colonna, Rome). His grandnephew Jacopo Palma, 1544–1628, Venetian painter, called Palma Giovane, formed his style by studying the works of Titian, Tintoretto, and the great masters of Rome. He was a facile technician and an excellent colorist. Examples of his art are The Last Judgment and The Savior Adored by Two Doges (ducal palace, Venice); St. Catherine Rescued from the Wheel (Church of the Frari, Venice); and Madonna with Saints (Naples).

See J. A. Crowe, History of Painting in North Italy, (3 vol., 1912, repr. 1972).

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