Giovanni Battista Moroni

Born circa 1525 in Albino, Lombardy; died Feb. 5, 1578, in Bergamo, Lombardy. Italian painter of the Brescian school.

Moroni was influenced by his teacher, A. Moretto, as well as by L. Lotto and Titian. Primarily a portrait painter, he was one of the first European masters of portraiture. His portraits, which were often life-size and painted with a restrained palette, are marked by incisive characterization, an unforced choice of attitude, and an absence of idealization (The Tailor, 1560’s, National Gallery, London).