NEGRETTI Jacopo

“Palma the younger” (Venice 1544 – 1628)

Venetian painter and engraver, son of Antonio and Giulia de Pitati, born in a family permeated by a distinct artistic character. From childhood he was directed to study painting, in the footsteps of his paternal uncle ‘Palma the Elder’ and those of his mother’s brother, Bonifacio dè Pitati (Bonifacio Veronese).

In 1567 the Duke of Urbino, Guidobaldo II of the Oak, acknowledging the uncommon talent of the young Palma helped him in his artistic training, sending him to Rome where he stayed for about four years.
Back to Venice, Palma actively attended the Titian’s workshop and, at the death of the latter, he completed his last opera “La Pietà”, which is today preserved at the Accademia Gallery.
In addition to Titian’s influence, his style was strongly influenced by Tintoretto’s mannerist model.

In 1582 he married Adriana Fondra, who brought a lot of concerns to the painter because of his unstable soul, a situation further worsened by the premature disappearance of two sons of the couple, which led to Adriana’s death in February 1605.
As an engraver his most important work consists of twenty-six subjects included in the volume ‘Rules for Learning to Draw Human Bodies … ..’. published in Venice in 1636 by the printer Marco Sadeler.

He died in 1628, without any heir, daughter or grandchildren continuing the family activities in the arts.