User:Rubywatts/sandbox

I have chosen to write the wikipedia article on Bartolomeo Montagna. There is a lack of information about both his life and his art. It says he was an architect as well as a painter but does not reference any of his architectural work. There is also only one image of his work. I plan to add a longer biographical section as well as additional works and their descriptions. If possible, i will also add more images of his work.

Draft of Bartolomeo Montagna

Bartolomeo Montagna (1450?– 11 October 1523) was an Italian painter who worked in mainly in Vicenza. He also produced works in Venice, Verona, and Padua. He is most famous for his many Madonnas. His works are known for their soft figures and depiction of eccentric marble architecture. He is also considered to be heavily influenced by Giovanni Bellini, in whose workshop he might have worked around 1470. Benedetto Montagna, a productive engraver, was his son and pupil and active till past 1540. He was mentioned in Vasari's Lives as a student of Andrea Mantegna but this is widely contested by art historians.

Life

He was born Bartolomeo Cincani and later changed his name to Bartolomeo Montagna. The first known written record of his existence is from 1459 and list him as a minor. The first documentation of him as an adult is in 1480 as a witness of a will. Because of this, there is much debate as to his birthdate. Some scholars have agreed on close to 1450 while others place him closer to 1453. His family originated in Brescia, Italy and later moved to Biron around 1450 before settling in Vicenza sometime by 1460. For most of his life through his death he was a resident of Vicenza lived in a house he purchased a house across from the Church of San Lorenzo in 1484. From 1469-1474 Montagna was in Venice before returning to Vicenza and starting his career as a painter. He moved from Vicenza to Padua in from 1509-1514 due to the war in Vicenza.

The identity of his wife is unknown, but they had three sons. One of his sons, Benedetto Montagna, was also an artist famous for his engravings. His other two sons, Philip and Paul are mentioned in some contracts but absent from his will. Bartolomeo Montagna died on October 11th, 1523. He left the majority of his possessions and his practice to his son, Benedetto.

Works

Because the birthdate of Montagna is unknown, there is also debate at when exactly he began his career and exactly how old he was at the time.

Early Works (1480s-1490s)

His first known documented commission was for two paintings for the Scuola Grande di San Marco in Venice. The paintings were to depict the Deluge and a scene from Genesis, however their final status is unknown as they were destroyed in a fire in 1485. The next known record of his work is for an altarpiece in the hospital of Vicenza, the current whereabouts are also unknown.

His first extant painting is from September 1487 (as inscribed on the back of the work) for a painting of The Virgin and Child with Saint Sebastian and Roch. He was also commissioned to do the altarpiece of San Bartolomeo of Vicenza, of which the date is often debated. In 1490 he painted an altarpiece for the Certosa di Pavia in Padua showing the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saint John the Baptist and Jerome. In 1491 painted the altarpiece, the semidome,  and other wall frescos for an Oratory dedicated to St. Blaise  at the church of Santi Nazaro e Celso in Verona. The semidome depicts St. Blaise with companions and the walls depict other scenes of St. Blaise. These works are noted for their precise and realistic and thin figures. From 1497-1499 he was paid monthly to work on a altarpiece for the Squazari family. His final payment was in the form of a piece of property which he kept until 1503. This was located in a chapel in the Church of San Michele and depicted a Madonna and Child accompanied by four saints. The outlines of this painting are very bold and it features detailed drapery .

His early works are characterized by the use of trachyte marble architecture and a particular positioning of the Virgin's hand. They also are usually distinguished by their symmetry, organization, equally distributed light, and plastic-like quality to the figures.

Later Works (1499 - 1522)

An altarpiece in San Michele at Vicenza (Virgin and Child with Four Saints and Music-making Angels) from 1499 is considered by many scholars to be a turning point in Montagna's style. This changes in style is characterized by change in tone and use of warmer and richer colors. In 1500 Montagna completed a Pieta in the Church of the Madonna del Monte. This painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding Christ's dead body. This painting is characterized by less rigid form than Montagna's previous works. In the same year he also completed the Virgin and St. Joseph Adoring Christ in the Church of Orgiano.

Around this time the Bishop of Vicenza also commissioned Montagna to create a Ancona of the Virgin and Child with Eight Saints for the Cathedral of Vicenza. This work was lost after 1779 but is recorded in multiple records. In 1504 Montagna travelled to Verona to complete frescos for the choir of the Cappella di San Biagio depicting many scenes of St. Blaise. After this work, he was commissioned to do the altarpiece for San Sebastiano in Verona. This depicts the Virgin and Child Enthroned with with St. Sebastian and St. Jerome. After returning to Vicenza, Montagna completed a painting of Madonna between Saint Anthony and John the Evangelists for San Lorenzo. This is often considered the height of Montagna's paintings.

Montagna's style at this time is noted for its eccentric qualities despite the trend of a more mellow style that was adopted by his peers. His works of this time were known for their decorative architecture, detailed drapery, and sharp angles. Despite the bright colors and sharp angles of his paintings at this time, the figures pictures in them were often fuller and softer.

The last dated painting of Montagna is from 1507 although there are many paintings that have been dated by scholars after this time. Paintings from the last 15 years of his life are often considered a decline from the height of his career. His style was noticeably different in the years he spent in Padua (1509-1514), showing more landscapes, sunsets and warm colors incorporated with his signature architecture look. Examples of works of this style from Montagna's time in Padua are the Exhumation of St. Anthony for the Scuola di San Antonio and the Virgin and Child with Four Saints in Saint Maria in Vanzo. In 1517 Montagna returned to Vicenza. In 1522 he painted the Nativity for the Scuola di San Guiseppe.

Influences

There is no written record of Montagna's training as a painter but there are many speculations and debates about his influences. In the second edition of Vasari's Lives, Vasari mentions that Montagna learned to draw from Andrea Mantegna but does not specify if as an actual pupil or just from Montagna studying Mantegna's works. It is generally agreed on that Montagna was influenced by Giovanni Bellini, Antonello da Messina, and Alvise Vivarni. As to whether he was actually a pupil of any of these artists and in which order is highly debated. The debates regarding his influences and the time and places they may have worked together contribute to the large variations in the datings of his works. Montagna's use of geometric figures are atributed to Messina and his use of soft figues and luminous landscapes are attributed to Bellini. Some scholars argue that he was likely a student of Bellini who just studied Messina's works while others think he studied under only Messina.

Many scholars agree that the altarpiece of San Bartolomeo of Vicenza show heavy influences from Giovanni Bellini. This depicts Virgin and Child with Four Saints and Music-making Angels and is from approximately 1485. It is noted as a variation of Bellini's altarpieces. It is possible that Montagna worked as a student of Bellini in Venice around 1470. The positioning of figures and coloring of many of Montagna's early Madonnas closey resemble those used by Bellini. Montagna's works attributed to the influence of Antonello and Alvise Vivarini show smooth plastic-like figures.

Recently, Montagna's works have also been linked to the styles of Ercole de' Roberti and Benedetto Diana.

Montagna himself influenced many other painters in Vicenza. These include Cima da Conegliano, Vittore Carpaccio, Giovanni Battista Speranza, and his son Benedetto Montagna.

Peer Review

Lead section: Your lead section is very clear and concise with relevant biographical information that gives the reader a gist of the article and it does indeed reflect the essence of the information provided in the rest of the article. I think it may be beneficial to give a few examples of his most notable works as the balance of information on Bartolomeo Montagna's life is offset by the information on his son in the last sentence. Moreover, while the birthdate, as you later elaborate, is highly debated, the date of Bartolomeo's death appears to be very precise; it may be worthwhile to explain this for clarification in the section on his life. Since Montagna is mentioned in Vasari's Lives, perhaps also include this fact in the lead as many artists' biographies tend to reference his book frequently for more authority.

Structure: The structure is organized in a coherent manner and easy to understand; the article is clearly laid out with the appropriate headings and sub-headings. I think the flow of 'Life' to 'Works' to 'Influences' works very well and would be effective for readers to view and understand the artist. Perhaps consider creating a separate section for Montagna's works rather than incorporating it into the section on his life as there is substantial information on his art.

Coverage: All the information is relevant and the sections appear to all be at suitable lengths with a balanced treatment of all the information. Mostly scholarly perspectives are represented and Vasari's take on Montagna is also mentioned under 'Influences', perhaps consider also representing some minority viewpoints. In terms of the section on his life, there are good descriptions of the debate surrounding his birthdate, his family and his life path. However, even though you expand upon the impact that various masters exerted over Montagna under the 'Influences' section, it might be useful to add some information on his training as an artist in this 'Life' section, as this was addressed in the lead. It would also be good to add some information on his death, such as cause, time, place, in this section rather than mentioning it under 'Later Works'. In the lead you also mentioned Montagna's architecture but there are only references to his paintings in the sub-sections of his works so it may be better to add information on his architecture. If his architectural works still survive today it might even be easier to acquire pictures of them and use them in the article.

Content: The tone of the article is generally appropriately mild and neutral; most of the information is represented as statements of facts. Nonetheless, there are some claims made on behalf of unnamed groups of people, such as 'some scholars' and 'many scholars', which can be interpreted as attempts at persuading the reader to take a certain point of view and may compromise the neutrality of the article since not all perspectives are reflected.

Sources: Most of the information in the article is referenced and there is no unnecessary over-referencing of objective facts. The 4 sources you have cited so far can all be considered reliable, as they take forms of books and academic journals, with source number 1 even associated with the National Gallery of Art, which further increases its reliability as museums are typically good reference points of information. Oxford Art Online is also used, which is not only a valid and relatively dependable source but for in this case also gives ample biographical information on Montagna. The only suggestion would be that I think it might be a good idea to also cite facts mentioned in the lead.

Overall very well written and I didn't really find any grammatical errors! Having some pictures might help make the article a little more visually aesthetic. Hope this feedback was helpful.

Irenez2017 (talk) 20:10, 6 March 2017 (UTC)Irenez2017