Pordenone Exhibition in Hometown Rivals Titian

Pordenone, the Friulian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis (1483-1539), is celebrated with a major exhibition in his hometown, Pordenone. The show, curated by Caterina Furlan with Vittorio Sgarbi, features about 40 autograph works alongside pieces by Titian, Dosso Dossi, Lorenzo Lotto, Correggio, Schiavone, Tintoretto, and Pomponio Amalteo. It includes loans not seen in the 1984 retrospective at Villa Manin, Codroipo, such as drawings and the Nuda fresco from the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice. The exhibition traces Pordenone's formation, his early stay in Rome (influenced by Michelangelo and Raphael), and his Venetian style indebted to Giorgione. Highlights include the juxtaposition of Pordenone's monumental doors from San Rocco in Venice with Lotto's altarpiece, both depicting Saint Roch, and a dramatic red-walled room with Pordenone's Pietà and Deposition from Cortemaggiore alongside Correggio's Lamentation from Parma. The show extends beyond the gallery with itineraries to local sites like the Duomo (with Madonna della Misericordia and frescoes) and the Museo Civico, which has been reorganized. Pordenone's rivalry with Titian, though his death by poisoning is a myth (he died of a heart or lung condition in Ferrara), is well-documented; he worked in Cremona Cathedral and Santa Maria di Campagna in Piacenza.