Palma the Elder (1480–1528)

Palma Vecchio,  born Jacopo Palma and also known as Jacopo Negretti, was an Venetian painter of the Italian Renaissance. He is called Palma Vecchio in English (“Palma the Elder”, in Italian Palma il Vecchio) to distinguish him from Palma Giovane (Palma the Younger), his great-nephew, who was also a painter.

Palma’s mature work from the 1520s shows a “High Renaissance” style, characterized by his mastery of contrapposto, the enrichment of his high-keyed palette and the development of a dignified and diverse repertory of ideal human types in conservative compositions. These qualities dominated his work to the exclusion of dramatic chiaroscuro, spatial experiment, expressionism and innovative composition.