Robert Bunkin: An Illustrated Talk on
Giovanni Battista Moroni

Giovanni Battista Moroni (ca. 1523-1579) is known among cognoscenti of Renaissance painting, but is relatively little-known compared to such masters as Titian and Raphael.

He painted superb, and uncannily modern-looking portraits of the people in his community: nobility, ecclesiasts, officials, intellectuals and merchants, including the earliest portrait of a skilled tradesman, Moroni’s famous Portrait of a Tailor in London’s National Gallery.

Despite his limited renown, his work can be found in most of the major art museums of the world, including about 22 works in American museums (the Metropolitan Museum owns 3). His reputation has recently soared, due to an historic exhibition at London’s Royal Academy in 2015. Plans are now afoot for the first NYC solo show of his work at the Frick Collection in 2019.

Robert Bunkin, former Curator of Art at the Staten Island Museum and figurative painter, has studied Moroni’s work in depth for over 40 years. He has traveled to see most of Moroni’s paintings, and will have recently returned from a visit to Moroni’s cities: Bergamo and Albino, having met with Dr. Simone Facchinetti, the scholar of Moroni who is currently preparing a new catalogue of Moroni’s complete works. Dr. Facchinetti, Director of the Adriano Bernareggi Museum of Sacred Art in Bergamo, has curated numerous exhibitions about Moroni in the past two decades (including the Royal Academy show, co-curated with Arturo Galansino). The publication of Dr. Facchinetti’s catalogue is planned to coincide with the Moroni exhibition at the Frick Collection.

Mr. Bunkin’s talk will be profusely illustrated with works primarily in American Museums. He will also address Moroni’s influence on later artists, such as Van Dyck, Velazquez, Kauffman, Reynolds, Whistler, and Cassatt.

A Free event sponsored by Westbeth Artists Residents Council