Giorgione, << jawr JAW neh >> (1478?-1510), was an Italian artist who helped make Venice a center of painting during the Italian Renaissance. His richly colored pictures influenced Venetian artists in the 1500’s.
Unlike other Italian painters of his time, Giorgione did not emphasize religious themes. Instead, he used nonreligious subjects set in rural landscapes. He achieved a moody, shadowy feeling by applying paint in a loose, sketchy manner. Giorgione’s Concert Champetre (about 1510) illustrates his style. This painting features five figures, including two nude women, in a landscape setting. Giorgione’s hazy light gives the figures a dreamy, romantic appearance. The rich colors, soft flesh tones, and merging of the figures into the background are typical of his style.
Giorgione was born in the village of Castelfranco, near Venice, and died of the plague in his early 30’s. He did not sign his paintings, and so scholars still dispute which works are entirely his. Only six paintings are accepted as his own.
