Melozzo
da Forlì

Came from Forli, a pupil of the painter Ensino da Forli. On the formation as a painter was influenced by the works of Andrea Mantegna and Piero della Francesca. From 1476 to 1481, he worked in Rome. This is one of the best works — painting of the Vatican library. From the painting preserved fragment "the Establishment of the Vatican library by Pope Sixtus IV" (the year 1477, Vatican Pinacoteca). The composition is reminiscent of the work of pier della Francesca, executed a group portrait on the background of complex architectural interior of the library.

The Italian artist. Melozzo da Forli was one of the main followers of Piero della Francesca in Tuscany, from Rome to Ferrara. We don't know who was his teacher; one can only assume the role of a small circle of artists forlì (Forli Ensueno Yes, Guidecca da Imola), as well as early Christian and Byzantine monuments in neighboring Ravenna, which could affect the monumental style of the young artist, preparing for a meeting with Piero. Melozzo, worked in Rome, Urbino, Loretto, Ancona, but the exact dates of his stay in these cities is unknown.In 1465 he left Forli, and probably in this period he went to Rome, where he works in TS. Sanmarco. In 1470-1472, it appears in Urbino, where, along with Pedro Berruguete and IOS van Ghent, of course, involved in the painting and the studiolo of the library of the Duke Federico da Montefeltro. Melozzo, creates a series of "Famous people" (Paris, Louvre; Urbino, NAT. Gal. Mark) and "liberal arts" ("Music", "Rhetoric", London, NAT. Gal.). These years are of great importance for the history of painting, because, Melozzo other artists better understand the art of Pierrot, and was in direct contact with the Dutch van Ghent IOS and Hispanic Berruguete in a style that opened new opportunities. Proof of this can serve as a "Portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro" (Rome, Gal. Column). Melozzo, therefore, was one of the figures wide traffic updates initiated by Antonello da Messina. In 1473 he once again travels to Rome, where he works together with Antoniazzo Romano. In 1478 it is mentioned as a painter of Pope Sixtus IV ("pittore papale") is the creation time of solemn painting "the Foundation of the Vatican library" in the Vatican, where the academic perspective and the volumes claim to the effect of grandiosity. Soon he takes the work for TS. Santi Apostoli ("Ascension of Christ", now the Rome, Quirinal Palace; the "angels" and "Apostles", now the Vatican). Melozzo familiar with the paintings of Bramante, is one of the artists of the Grand monumental style, which developed from Piero to Raphael in parallel, the stern style of students Squarcione and many other Florentine artists. These traits are characteristic for the two last works, Melozzo created in collaboration with Palmezzano, - paintings in the dome of the chapel of the treasure in Loretto ("Prophets" and "Angels") and the chapel of FeO (Forli, TS. San Biagio), in which the colossal silhouettes of the prophets sitting around the parapet at about keshirovaniya the arch, make a fantastic illusionist effect.