Lazzaro Bastiani: a catalogue raisonné in the light of infrared reflectography analysis

This thesis focuses on the painter Lazzaro Bastiani, who lived and worked in Venice in the second half of the 15th century. The research follows an interdisciplinary methodology, leveraging on the synergy between history of art and non-invasive scientific diagnostic i.e., infrared reflectography (IRR), with the aim of broadening the knowledge of the artist Lazzaro Bastiani by studying his underdrawing. In general, the thesis is presented as a monographic work, according to the traditional art-historical approach, to which the scientific methodology and results are integrated. The first chapter presents the critical reception of Bastiani throughout the centuries. First regarded as Carpaccio’s disciple according to Vasari’s and Ridolfi’s statements, this relation was reversed after the archival discoveries published in 1900 and 1906 by Ludwig, Paoletti and Molmenti. Soon discarded the hypothesis of Bastiani as Carpaccio’s master, in the 20th century the scholars mainly focused on defining Bastiani’s education and early production, and on constructing a chronologically coherent catalogue of his paintings. The second chapter consists of a chronological overview of Bastiani’s life and career based on published archival records. The third chapter concerns the interdisciplinary aspect of the research. After a short introduction on the underdrawing, the infrared reflectography technique is explained, with a digression on its evolution and further applications. A section on the interdisciplinary approach to investigate paintings stresses the necessity of a dialogue between scientific diagnostic and art historical interpretation of the results, in order to effectively broaden our understanding of the examined piece of artwork and of the artist himself. An excursion on drawing and underdrawing describes the difference between these practices in Italy and, uppermost, in Venice. The final sub-sections of the chapter focus on the diagnostic campaign and the collection of IR images to develop what it has been called “Bastiani’s IR imaging database”, here studied. Finally, it has been outlined Bastiani’s artistic technique based on scientific analyses performed on his paintings in the past. The core of the thesis is developed in chapter four, which is divided in four sub-chapters. The first three sub-sections discuss different aspects of Lazzaro Bastiani artistic career (context and relations; formation and influences; typological differences and commissions). In the fourth sub-chapter it is applied the interdisciplinary methodology to specifically examine Lazzaro Bastiani’s underdrawing and modus operandi, based on the results of the infrared reflectography analysis. Chapters five, six and seven consist of the catalogue of attributed, lost and rejected paintings, drawings, and other works (mosaics and tapestries). The catalogue entries follow a progressive numbering and are listed according to the geographical order.