Polyptych

Francesco Napoletano's Polyptych, painted around 1495 and now in the Tosio Martinengo Gallery in Brescia, is by a Lombard painter whose epithet 'Napoletano' may indicate Neapolitan origin or training, though he worked primarily in Brescia and the Lombard region. Brescian painting of the 1490s occupied a fascinating position: rooted in the Veneto tradition through the city's long connection with Venice, but increasingly exposed to the Leonardesque innovations filtering north from Milan. The Tosio Martinengo's collection provides the essential Brescian context for understanding the transitional style of this polyptych.

Tempera and oil on panel in a multi-panel polyptych format. The style reflects the Veneto-Lombard synthesis of Brescian painting — figures with Venetian three-dimensional presence combined with softer tonal modeling from Lombard Leonardesque influence.