Giovanni d'Alemagna
Giovanni d'Alemagna, , ( – 9 July 1450) was a Venetian renaissance painter of German ancestry, active in Italy, with his brother-in-law Antonio Vivarini on religious paintings in Venice and Padua, that are preserved in the named cities together with those of Vivarini. Biography. Giovanni d'Alemagna is remembered above all for the work done in Venice, characterized by decorative forms that recall Nordic influence. Between 1430 and 1435 he created a cycle called Stories of Christ, which are still exhibited at the Ca' d'Oro. According to Ridolfo and Zanetti, Giovanni and Antonio Vivarini flourished about the year 1440, where  they adduce authority for an altar-piece in San Pantalon, which bears the inscription of Zuane e Antonio da Muran pense 1444. Although it is difficult to distinguish the two artists' contributions, Giovanni is associated with the St Jerome (1444), which carries the signature 'Johannes'. This painting suggests that Giovanni's work was generally flatter and more decorative than Antonio's more naturalistic style. Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini ran an shop in Venice that specialized in multi-tiered, multi-paneled altarpieces and fanciful Gothic frames, which they subcontracted to various woodworkers. Giovanni and Antonio signed and dated the triptych  representing the Enthroned Madonna with Child and Saints for the wall behind the officers' bench of the recently expanded meeting room of the Scuola della Carità (now part of the Gallerie dell'Accademia, a result of the collaboration made in 1446 for this room of the hotel. Resembling an altarpiece but functioning as an inducement to good decision making, this monumental painting shows the four doctors of the Church (Sts Gregory and Jerome at the left, Ambrose and Augustine at the right) in a courtyard around a massive Madonna and Child. The Virgin's celestial court is vividly rendered with marbled  pink and grey architecture, rich deep colours, costly robes, and lovingly observed plant life. In 1448, he worked at Vivarini's workshop, which was moved to Padua, together with Andrea Mantegna and Nicolò Pizolo, in the decoration of the Ovetari Chapel, but died soon afterwards.