Paolo Moraldo

Paolo Moraldo, better known as Paolo Moranda Cavazzola, (or Paolo Morando), was a painter from Verona during the Renaissance. His painting style resembles that of Venetians such as Bellini (1426 – 1516) and Giorgione (1477 – 1510), and he trained with Francesco Morone (1471 – 1529). His style also showed an influence from Mantegna (1431 – 1506) and later from Raphael (1483 – 1520).

There is somewhat limited account of his works; those known being his, Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Angel, painted sometime between 1514 and 1518. A tender and expressive work, it shows soft Venetian colors and an unusual depiction of Saint John holding a lemon, which is said to allude to the weaning of Christ. There is also his representation of, Saint Roch, the left-wing panel of a triptych he collaborated on in the Santa Maria della Scala in Verona, also from 1518. Both latter pieces are now in the National Gallery of London.

In the Uffizi Gallery, is his piece, Warrior with Equerry, painted sometime between 1518 and 1522. The effects of soft light and calm expressiveness show Giorgione’s influence, which is an interesting contrast to the painting’s subject of a Warrior in armor. The Warrior’s face is a striking representation of melancholy emotion; he seems almost distracted from what his dutiful garb implies as well as from what his Equerry (personal attendant) gazes at in the distance. This work was wrongfully attributed to Giorgione’s late period and was once thought to be a portrait of the famous Condottieri (mercenary) Gattamelata, now proven otherwise. (Kren and Marx, Web Gallery of Art)