Lot 5: Bonifazio de' Pitati called Bonifazio Veronese , Verona 1487-1553 Venice Mercury Slaying Argus oil on panel, unframed

oil on panel, unframed

measurements note 9 by 25 3/4 in.; 22.8 by 65.3 cm.

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
Bonifazio de' Pitati was born in Verona in 1487. He is first recorded in Venice in 1528, although scholars agree that he must have been there prior to that date, possibly even as early as 1505, absorbing the influence of Giorgione, Titian and Palma Vecchio, in whose studio Bonifazio may have worked. One of the artist's most famous commissions was for the decoration of the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, Venice, which he begun in 1529.

In addition to commissions for large religious and civic decorative projects, Bonifazio produced many small panel paintings which were used to embellish cassone (marriage chests), headboards, and other types of domestic furniture. It is likely that the present panel originally served such a decorative purpose.