CAROTO, GIAN FRANCESCO

born c. 1480, , Verona, Republic of Venice died 1555, Verona Venetian painter whose largely derivative works are distinguished by their craftsmanship and sense of colour. During a sojourn in Mantua, Caroto came under the influence of the vigorous linearism and classical orientation of Andrea Mantegna. Returning to Verona, he painted religious works and portraits in oil, tempera, and fresco. Among his important earlier works is the Entombment (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.); two of his principal later works are the Madonna in Glory with Saints (1528; San Fermo Maggiore, Verona) and St. Ursula (1545; San Giorgio, Verona). The landscape backgrounds of his half-length Madonnas sometimes convey a feeling of mystery suggestive of the works of Leonardo da Vinci, and his later style owes something to the classicism of Raphael. Caroto was the leading artist in Verona until his death.