(Verona c. 1480 - c. 1555)
Saint Sebastian,
oil on panel, 75 x 50 cm, unframed

We are grateful to Mauro Natale for endorsing the attribution for the present painting on the basis of a digital photograph. We are also grateful to Vilmos Tátrai for independently endorsing the attribution on the basis of a digital photograph.

According to Vasari, Caroto was trained by Liberale da Verona. His works reveals a series of identifiable influences, including Lorenzo Costa the elder, Leonardo and his followers, Raphael, Giulio Romano, Parmigianino and Correggio. His compositions appear to be influenced by Leonardo, probably the effect of a sojourn in Milan in 1507. Lombard influence is also evident in the frescoes depicting Tobias and the canvas of Three Angels executed for the Spolverini Chapel, Santa Eufemia, Verona, variously dated between 1508 and 1520.

A new phase revealing Central Italian influence is evident in Caroto´s later work derived from Raphael’s oeuvre and the presence of Giulio Romano in Mantua from 1524. In the Raising of Lazarus in Palazzo Vescovile, Verona Caroto depicts figures that are classically proportioned, but their muscularity is not exaggerated. Gian Francesco’s pupils included Domenico Brusasorci and Antonio Badile.