Cima da Conegliano

Cima da Conegliano painted calm, clear religious pictures set in bright landscapes. His Madonnas and saints stand in soft, even light, and behind them are the hills, castles and towns of the Veneto, painted with real affection. He was among the first Italians to give landscape such a large role.

Giovanni Battista Cima was born in Conegliano around 1459 and probably trained with Bartolomeo Montagna in Vicenza. He settled in Venice by 1492 and became one of the ablest followers of Giovanni Bellini. His Baptism of Christ of 1492 is still in the church of San Giovanni in Bragora in Venice, and his Madonna of the Orange Tree is in the Gallerie dell’Accademia. The National Gallery in London holds his Incredulity of Saint Thomas, and there are works in the Louvre and the Hermitage. He returned to Conegliano and died there around 1517.

In the Baptism of Christ, look past the figures to the landscape.