Francesco Bassano the Elder

1549 - 1592 Italian

Venetian Renaissance painter, Bellini follower

Francesco da Ponte the Elder, or Francesco Bassano the Elder (c. 1475–1539) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance Venetian School. He was born at Vicenza. After training in Venice he established himself at Bassano. If not an actual pupil of Giovanni Bellini, he was a follower of his style. He painted a St. Bartholomew for the cathedral of Bassano, an altarpiece for the church of San Giovanni, and a Descent of the Holy Ghost for the village church of Oliero. Francesco died in Bassano. His son, Jacopo da Ponte gained prominence as a painter in Venice and the Veneto. One of Jacopo's sons was the painter Francesco da Ponte the Younger. He died at Bassano del Grappa in 1539.