Leandro Bassano

Leandro Bassano (1557-1622), also called Leandro dal Ponte, was an Italian artist from Bassano del Grappa who was awarded a knighthood by the Doge of Venice. He was the younger brother of artist Francesco Bassano the Younger and third son of artist Jacopo Bassano. Their father took his surname from their town of Bassano del Grappa, and trained his sons as painters.

Leandro studied with his brothers in their father's workshop. After Francesco opened a workshop in Venice before 1575, Leandro took over the studio in Bassano del Grappa. Leandro followed in the tradition of his father's religious works, but also became independently well known as a portrait painter.

By around 1575, Leandro had become an important assistant to his father. His father wanted Leandro to carry on the studio in Bassano del Grappa. Shortly after their father died, his brother Francesco committed suicide.

Leandro moved to Venice, taking over the family studio there. He became a successful portraitist, working close to the influential style of Venetian master Tintoretto.

Leandro developed his style, taking in Venetian influence and furthering his fine drawing style. His approach to painting differed from his father's in the use of "fine brushwork, with cool, light colours, smoothly applied in well-defined areas, unlike his father, who painted with dense and robust brushstrokes."

His success grew substantially in Venice. Leandro was awarded a knighthood from Doge of Venice Marino Grimani in 1595. He lived his remaining days in that city, working as a painter. With the knighthood, Leandro began to sign his name with the honorary, "Eques". Much of his work is not clearly dated, and his works have sometimes been confused with other artists. His Portrait of an Old Man in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest was once attributed to Tintoretto.

In addition to his many portraits and religious pieces, Leandro painted secular, genre works, such as his Concert, now in the Uffizi Gallery, and his Kitchen Scene, displayed in the Indiana University Art Museum in the United States. The Prado Museum in Madrid holds a nice collection of seven Works by Bassano including religious, portraits, mythological and a veduta similar to other preserved at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando also located in Madrid.