GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This figure of a man appears extraordinarily vivid as it emerges from a dark, plain background. His traveling cloak, walking stick, and weathered, dirty hands suggest he is a pilgrim. Bellotti is known for his meticulous hand in depicting the texture of wrinkled skin, coarse hair, and homespun cloth. He was deeply influenced by the gritty realism of Spanish painting and the dramatic lighting effects pioneered by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio in the early 17th century. Bellotti favored subjects such as paupers and pilgrims that gave him free rein to explore these qualities in paint.
Excerpt from
Julien Domercq, Label text (1987.4), 2020
NOTES
Created c. 1660s-1670s
TMS LISTS BIRTH PLACE AS VOLZANO===CANNOT FIND THAT IN GEO XREF. NOR CAN I FIND "VOLCIANO DI SALO" or "ROE VOLCIANO" which are some of the other names I've seen used to describe the location
Checked Piction
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Old Pilgrim," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 154.
The aged figure of a pilgrim, identified not by the familiar cockleshell but by several religious emblems pinned to his chest, confronts us with a searching gaze. His gesture seems to be an invitation to join him on his harsh road. Set against an unadorned background, the strongly lit figure emerges from the shadows with a forceful presence. Pietro Bellotti here demonstrates his characteristic interest in deeply wrinkled faces, dirty hands, and rustic clothing mended with prominent stitches. Bellotti's portraits and genre paintings are notable for their dramatic chiaroscuro and naturalistic treatment of the human figure, reflecting the influence of Spanish painters on northern Italian painting in the mid-seventeenth century. In fact, this painting was attributed to several different Spanish painters before being definitively associated with an important group of mature works by Bellotti.
5/13/2020- Covid-19 closure; Online sprint devoted to European galleries; Julien wrote or re-wrote 9 European object labels and has asked Emily Schiller to try to make this content available online by 5/17/2020. As with most content on the online collection, this text has not been edited by Queta. This text is the original draft from Julien and will be edited for interpretation standards and routed as a wall label in Fall 2020.
Online content prior to 5/13/2020:
This figure of an anonymous man appears extraordinarily vivid as it emerges from the dark, plain background. He does not wear the usual badge of a pilgrim, the cockle shell, but instead has a red cross stitched to his tattered satchel. The man’s character as a pilgrim is confirmed by his traveling cloak, walking stick, and weathered, dirty hands. Pietro Bellotti is known for his careful attention to the textures of wrinkled skin, coarse hair, and homespun cloth. Bellotti was deeply influenced by the gritty realism of Spanish painting and the dramatic lighting effects pioneered by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610), and he favored subjects such as paupers and pilgrims that gave him free rein to explore these qualities in paint.
Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, DMA label copy, 2012.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Bellotti, Pietro (Italian, 1627-1700): ULAN: 500119246
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Italy (nation): TGN: 1000080
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1987.4
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
This figure of a man appears extraordinarily vivid as it emerges from a dark, plain background. His traveling cloak, walking stick, and weathered, dirty hands suggest he is a pilgrim. Bellotti is known for his meticulous hand in depicting the texture of wrinkled skin, coarse hair, and homespun cloth. He was deeply influenced by the gritty realism of Spanish painting and the dramatic lighting effects pioneered by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio in the early 17th century. Bellotti favored subjects such as paupers and pilgrims that gave him free rein to explore these qualities in paint.
Excerpt from
Julien Domercq, Label text (1987.4), 2020
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Created c. 1660s-1670s
TMS LISTS BIRTH PLACE AS VOLZANO===CANNOT FIND THAT IN GEO XREF. NOR CAN I FIND "VOLCIANO DI SALO" or "ROE VOLCIANO" which are some of the other names I've seen used to describe the location
Checked Piction
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Old Pilgrim," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 154.
The aged figure of a pilgrim, identified not by the familiar cockleshell but by several religious emblems pinned to his chest, confronts us with a searching gaze. His gesture seems to be an invitation to join him on his harsh road. Set against an unadorned background, the strongly lit figure emerges from the shadows with a forceful presence. Pietro Bellotti here demonstrates his characteristic interest in deeply wrinkled faces, dirty hands, and rustic clothing mended with prominent stitches. Bellotti's portraits and genre paintings are notable for their dramatic chiaroscuro and naturalistic treatment of the human figure, reflecting the influence of Spanish painters on northern Italian painting in the mid-seventeenth century. In fact, this painting was attributed to several different Spanish painters before being definitively associated with an important group of mature works by Bellotti.
5/13/2020- Covid-19 closure; Online sprint devoted to European galleries; Julien wrote or re-wrote 9 European object labels and has asked Emily Schiller to try to make this content available online by 5/17/2020. As with most content on the online collection, this text has not been edited by Queta. This text is the original draft from Julien and will be edited for interpretation standards and routed as a wall label in Fall 2020.
Online content prior to 5/13/2020:
This figure of an anonymous man appears extraordinarily vivid as it emerges from the dark, plain background. He does not wear the usual badge of a pilgrim, the cockle shell, but instead has a red cross stitched to his tattered satchel. The man’s character as a pilgrim is confirmed by his traveling cloak, walking stick, and weathered, dirty hands. Pietro Bellotti is known for his careful attention to the textures of wrinkled skin, coarse hair, and homespun cloth. Bellotti was deeply influenced by the gritty realism of Spanish painting and the dramatic lighting effects pioneered by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610), and he favored subjects such as paupers and pilgrims that gave him free rein to explore these qualities in paint.
Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, DMA label copy, 2012.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Bellotti, Pietro (Italian, 1627-1700): ULAN: 500119246
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Italy (nation): TGN: 1000080
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1987.4
source file
object_notes_1_a-0015.xml.nores