Art Gallery

Crivelli, Carlo (1430?-94?), Italian painter, born in Venice. He was influenced by the schools of Padua (Padova) and Ferrara and worked primarily in Fermo and neighboring towns. Although an outstanding talent within Venetian art of the Early Renaissance, Crivelli never succeeded in achieving a synthesis of is artistic abilities. He received his decisive impressions by working within the circle surrounding the workshop of Francesco Squarciones at Padua and studying the early works of Mantegna. The school of Ferrara, in particular Cosmè Tura, also became important in his later work, not only in developing his "goldsmith's style", but also in his combined depiction of several unrelated scenes set in unreal spatial surroundings ("Madonna della Passione", Verona, Museo di Castelvecchio). He lived in Venice until 1457 and then went into exile after being threatened with imprisonment, working first at Zara (today Zadar, Dalmatia), then in the late 1460s at Ascoli Piceno where he painted his major works. The large polyptich in the Cathedral of Ascoli Piceno (1473) is characteristic of his style: sharply-angled, modelled figures clad in stiff-textured garments, often as if made of metal, which in this way create a unity with the splendour of the painted jewels and carved frame.

Crivelli's altarpieces and single panels combine Venetian realism, sumptuous color, and rich ornament, such as garlands of fruit, with polished, linear precision. His delicate early work is emotionally expressive; later work is more monumental and reserved. Examples are the Annunciation (1476, National Gallery, London) and the Coronation of the Virgin (1493, Brera Gallery, Milan).