Giovanni d'Alemagna, Antonio Vivarini and the Early History of the Ovetari Chapel

Abstract

The 1448 contracts for the decoration of the Ovetari chapel in Padua awarded the lion's share of the work to the Venetian painters, Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini. Despite this, their role in the project is often overlooked in discussions concerning the chapel since they covered only a fraction of the wall space allocated to them before abandoning the project altogether in 1450. The present study aims to reach a better understanding of their relationship to the Ovetari project through a reconsideration of their surviving Paduan works. The study contributes to our understanding of the chapel in several ways. Firstly it reveals new links between patrons and artists. In addition it puts forward fresh proposals concerning the designs of Giovanni and Antonio for the project, based upon evidence of their work in the chapel itself and from their contemporary oeuvre. Moreover, it proposes a new role for the so-called Forzori altar as an important source for the designs of the Ovetari artists. Finally, the paper charts the biography of Giovanni d'Alemagna suggesting a long-standing relationship between the artist and Paduan audiences.