Life and Artistic Career
Born in Serina, Italy, Antonio Palma was the son of Bartolomeo Negretti and Giovannina Mussige. Following the deaths of his parents, he was cared for by the cousins of his uncle, Palma the Old. After 1528, he moved to Venice, where he entered the workshop of the Veronese painter Bonifacio de' Pitati. As the most significant and long-serving assistant to de' Pitati, Antonio contributed to the decoration of the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi and assisted in executing various paintings by copying his master's style.
Through his marriage to Giulia Brunello, the niece of Marietta Brunello, Antonio became a relative by marriage to his master, which facilitated the transmission of the workshop. He and Giulia had four children, including their second son, Jacopo, who became the painter known as Palma the Young. Antonio's work continued after the death of Bonifacio de' Pitati, as he produced paintings in a style close to his master for the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, the Zecca, and various Venetian churches and patrician interiors.
Works and Artistic Legacy
Antonio Palma's signed works include a Resurrection held in Stuttgart and a procession banner of a Pietà dated 1565, located in the church of Santa Maria Annunziata in his birthplace of Serina. Other works attributed to him include:
A collection of 78 drawings, executed in brown ink and sanguine on washed paper, is preserved in the Louvre. These drawings, which include highlights in white, served as a repertoire of models and figures used to create works quickly throughout his career. These figures were often drawn from the works of his master, as well as from Titian, Veronese, and antique sculptures found in Venice.
