|
Caprotti, Gian Giacomo [Salaì]
(b Oreno, nr Monza, c. 1480; d Milan, 19 Jan 1524). Italian painter. In 1490, aged 10, he joined the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. In his notebooks Leonardo described him as a ‘lying, obstinate, greedy thief’ but also considered him an able pupil. He was nicknamed Salaì (or Salaino, the name of a demon) because of his lively and irascible character. He remained with Leonardo for about 30 years. In 1499 he accompanied him to Mantua, Venice and Florence. By 1505 he had achieved some fame as a painter; Alvise Ciocha, an agent of Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, described him as ‘very able for his years’ and invited him to advise Pietro Perugino who was working for her. He accompanied Leonardo to Rome in 1513 and three years later to France, with Francesco Melzi. In 1519, following his master’s death, Salaì settled in Milan on property that Leonardo had bequeathed him. He died a violent death. An inventory of his possessions shows that he inherited many works by Leonardo, including the Mona Lisa and the Infant St John the Baptist (both Paris, Louvre). No signed works by Caprotti are known; documents mention two paintings of the Penitent St Jerome (untraced) in the monastery of S Gerolamo in Milan. It is assumed that his work adheres closely to that of Leonardo. According to this hypothesis, the Virgin and Child with St Anne (Los Angeles, UCLA, Wight A. G.) and St John the Baptist (Milan, Ambrosiana), copies of paintings by Leonardo (both Paris, Louvre), have been attributed to him.
|
|
There are more than 45,000 articles in The Grove Dictionary of Art.
To access the rest of this article, including the bibliography, subscribe to
www.groveart.com.
To find out more about this subject, click on a related article below and
subscribe to www.groveart.com
|
