born 0441; 1480, Venice
died 1556, Loreto, Papal States
Italian painter.
He worked in several cities other than Venice and developed an idiosyncratic style. His late Renaissance-style work exhibits a preference for opulent colours and a faculty for narrative painting. His nervous temperament is evident in such works as the Crucifixion in Monte San Giusto ( 0441; 1530), with its highly charged mysticism and crowded composition. Toward the end of his life (1554), he became a lay brother at the Santa Casa in Loreto to escape his critics and his debts. Though primarily a religious painter, he is best known today for his psychologically acute portraits.