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(2) Giovanni (Battista) Caroto
(b Verona, 1488; d Verona, 1563–6). Brother of (1) Gian Francesco Caroto. His training is undocumented, and some writers have assumed that Giovanni studied with his brother. His work shows the influence of Girolamo dai Libri (1474–1555) and Francesco Morone. Giovanni’s work moves from an early classical style that includes detailed representation of texture, fabric and landscape background to a fully High Renaissance style around 1530. His earliest extant work is probably the Annunciation on two canvases (Verona, S Giorgio in Braida), traditionally dated 1508 but possibly slightly later. It appears to refer both to Gian Francesco’s contemporary fresco of the same subject (Verona, S Gerolamo) and to Leonardo’s early Annunciation (Florence, Uffizi). Although the figures are somewhat stiff, the work shows Giovanni to be gifted and skilful. The depiction of the Virgin’s luminous dress is masterful, and the attention to detail in the sunset and wintry landscape behind Gabriel recalls Netherlandish painting. Similar qualities recur in the Virgin and Child Enthroned with SS Stephen and Martin (signed and dated 1514; ex-S Giovanni in Fonte, Verona; Verona Cathedral). In the Virgin and Child Enthroned with SS Peter and Paul (1516; Verona, S Paolo, main altar) the detail in the landscape and the sharply illuminated, rich materials is reduced to achieve an immediate sense of unity and grandeur, fostered by the huge, barrel-vaulted setting and a more pervasive, even light.
Part of the Caroto family
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