SAVOLDO, Giovanni Girolamo
(b. 1480, Brescia, d. 1548, Venezia)

Bust of a Youth

c. 1530
Oil on canvas
Galleria Borghese, Rome

During the first ten years that he worked in Venice, Savoldo developed his own extremely sensitive response to Titian's use of colour and light. He translated this into sparkling vibrations. But he never lost his mainland sense of realism which is the hallmark of all his work.

Savoldo became a reference point for the young Caravaggio, particularly in his half-length portraits of young men painted in a refined choice of colours and surrounded by strong chiaroscuro effects.