Trascrizione
The eight canvases on this wall belong to two cycles on biblical themes, which were painted by Francesco Fontebasso, a renowned exponent of Venetian painting in the Rococo period, during his two stays in Trento. Born in Venice in 1707, the artist trained in the prestigious workshop of the painter Sebastiano Ricci, later perfecting his skills in Rome and Bologna.
Upon his return home, the influence of Giambattista Tiepolo propelled Fontebasso towards the use of bright colours with clear tones, enlivened by vibrant brushstrokes and sunlight. It was precisely the Tiepolesque accents of his painting, as well as his compositional skills, that ensured the artist a certain level of fame among the minor European courts, which considered him a valid alternative to his more expensive and sought-after compatriot.
Fontebasso's first stay in Trento dates back to 1736 when he was called to the city to paint frescos on the vaults of the church of the Annunciation, commissioned by the confraternity of the same name. On this occasion, the artist also created the four paintings displayed on the left, depicting stories from the Old Testament, stylistically inspired by the frescoes that Tiepolo had executed about ten years earlier in Udine. The first two in particular, depicting episodes from the life of Abraham taken from Genesis, are exemplary of Fontebasso's chromatic liveliness, luminosity, and dynamic spatial composition.
The artist returned to Trento around 1759 to create nineteen canvases with stories from the Old Testament commissioned by Prince Bishop Francesco Felice Alberti d'Enno for the Castello del Buonconsiglio. During this second stay in Trento, Fontebasso also created the four works displayed on the right, which in contrast draw on the New Testament. Here, the accentuated plasticity and chiaroscuro of his more mature phase prevail.