Giovanni Paolo Lolmo

GIOVANNI PAOLO LOLMO (Bergamo, 1550- 1595).
"Portrait of a lady".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Work published in the catalog of the Fondazione Federico Zeri.
Measurements: 130 x 98 cm; 144 x 118 cm (frame).
This Portrait of a Lady is a great example of the quality and mastery that reached the Lombard portrait of the second half of the sixteenth century, an artistic field marked by the transition between the compositional rigor of the late Renaissance and a sensitivity increasingly attentive to the representation of social status, material wealth and psychological individuality of the model. Giovanni Paolo Lolmo, a painter active in Bergamo, is situated within this tradition, showing a clear affinity with the courtly models disseminated in northern Italy, especially through Venetian painting and official portraiture of Spanish roots. The composition presents the lady seated in a high-backed armchair, arranged in a pose of elegant frontality. This type of arrangement, solemn but not rigid, was common in portraits of the nobility and the gentry. The dark architectural background and the presence of the drapery contribute to reinforce the aulic character of the scene, isolating the figure and directing the attention towards his physical presence.
One of the most notable aspects of the work is the extraordinary detail in the description of the clothing and jewelry, a central element of aristocratic portraiture of the period. Lolmo demonstrates here a meticulous mastery of textures, fabrics, lace, precious metals, treated with a precise and controlled brushstroke, in accordance with the refined taste of the noble clientele.
A comparison with another Portrait of a Lady in the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo (inv. 58AC00396), also attributed to Giovanni Paolo Lolmo and dated between 1550 and 1595, is particularly relevant. Both works share not only the general compositional model, seated figure, arrangement of the body and framing, but also specific details such as the floral ornaments in the hair and the details of the necklace with hanging pearl, resembling the same jewel. It is worth mentioning that according to the historian Francesco Rossi (1996), the portrait of the Accademia painting could belong to a noblewoman of the Marenzi house.
Giovanni Paolo Lolmo was an Italian painter active in the second half of the 16th century and an important figure in the Bergamo art scene after the death of Giovan Battista Moroni. Son of Giovanni Fortunato, a miniaturist, he began his training in the family circle. His pictorial language shows mannerist traits that suggest a wider formation, perhaps in central Italy (Rome or Florence). The presence of one of his works in the basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome reinforces the hypothesis of a trip to the capital. His activity is documented from the 1570s, with a banner now recovered, and reaches a key moment in 1584, when he receives from the city of Bergamo the commission for an important spade for the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Lolmo did not limit himself to religious painting: he also produced works on secular and mythological themes, such as those preserved in the Villa Terzi in Gorle.