Pier Maria Pennacchi

(b ?Treviso, 1464; d Treviso, before 15 March 1515). Italian painter. He was a significant figure in the artistic life of Treviso, and, as he is recorded there almost annually from 1483, he could not have been a pupil with Giovanni Bellini in Venice from 1490 to 1500, as has been suggested. Many works by him are documented, the earliest in 1495, but only one documented work survives: the fresco of Christ in the semi-dome of the chapel of the Santissimo in Treviso Cathedral, commissioned in 1511. The chronology of his oeuvre is thus highly problematic. Among his presumed early works were the Virgin and Child with Saints, influenced by Girolamo da Treviso the elder and Antonello da Messina, and the Dead Christ with Angels (both Berlin, Kaiser-Friedrich Mus.; both destr.). These reflected Northern art, including engravings by D?rer. His works from the early 16th century probably include the Sacra conversazione (Treviso, Mus. Civ. Bailo), Christ the Redeemer (Parma, G.N.), the Virgin and Child with Donor (Venice, Ca' d'Oro) and the Holy Family with Donor (Bassano, Mus. Civ.). The attribution of the ceiling of S Maria dei Miracoli, Venice, considered a very late work, is uncertain. The iconography lacks unity, and it is difficult to identify Pennacchi's hand. In addition to the influences of Bellini, Antonello and Girolamo, his secure works reflect Northern and Lombard elements and early paintings by Lorenzo Lotto. The use of colour in such late works as the Death of the Virgin (Venice, Accad.) shows a knowledge of Giorgione.

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