(b Pieve di Cadore, 1521; d Venice, 2 March 1601). Painter and engraver, relative of (1) Francesco Vecellio. He was also a distant relation of Titian. Probably after training in Cadore with Francesco, he joined Titian's workshop in Venice. He travelled with Titian, visiting Augsburg in 1548, and remained in the shop until Titian's death in 1576. His independent works showed great decorative skill, particularly his scenes from the Life of the Virgin (1577) and the Deposition, both for S Maria Assunta, Lentiai (Belluno; in situ). In these paintings, he seemed to turn away from Titian and to look towards the work of Andrea Schiavone and Jacopo Tintoretto. Apart from occasional visits to Venice, he was active mainly in Cadore and Belluno, where he decorated a room in the Palazzo Piloni with the Four Seasons. Probably his most successful work in terms of style and the use of colour is the altarpiece of the Virgin and Child with SS Sebastian and Gregory the Great, and Giovanni Loredan (1584; Belluno Cathedral). Here, with his usual Mannerist themes, he demonstrated an unusual awareness of the real world, both in his use of light and in the disposition and depiction of figures. His gift for portraiture is also shown in other works, such as the altarpieces in Tarzo (Treviso) and Borgo Valsugana (Trento), in which the naturalistic effects are worthy of Leandro Bassano at his best. For the parish church of Pieve di Cadore he executed an important painting, the Surrender of Cadore to Venice (1599). He also painted the shutters of the old organ there (St Peter, St Paul, the Annunciation) and a lavish, but lifeless altarpiece of the Last Supper, which is dominated by a background of classical architecture inspired by Andrea Palladio. Many other works are in churches of the Cadore region and there is a Trinity in Milan (Brera). Cesare also worked as an engraver, producing, for example, the Adoration of the Name of Jesus (c. 1575). He published the first illustrated costume book, De gli habiti antichi et moderni di diverse parti del mondo (Venice, 1590), with 450 woodcuts by Cristoforo Guerra, based on drawings by Vecellio (see FASHION PLATE AND COSTUME BOOK). The edition of 1598 has 503 prints, but there are fewer illustrations in later editions (Madrid, 1794; Paris, 1856-9). He also published a book on embroidery and lacemaking, the Corona delle nobili et virtuose donne (Venice, 1591), which was reissued in many editions, as late as 1891.
Part of the Vecellio family
See the Abbreviations for further details.
