Museo Civico di Bassano Historical Timeline

Origins

The museum was founded in 1828 around a bequest, making it one of the older municipal museums in the Veneto.

Turning points

It is housed in the former Franciscan convent beside the church of San Francesco, in the centre of the old town.

Influential people

Jacopo dal Ponte, called Jacopo Bassano, was born here around 1510 and stayed, running a family workshop with four painter sons -- Francesco, Giambattista, Leandro and Gerolamo.

Cultural evolution

The Bassano workshop specialised in biblical scenes set among animals, tools and country labour, often at night by firelight. It was hugely popular and widely exported, and it fed directly into later European genre painting.

Present-day significance

The collection also covers the Remondini prints, archaeology, and a substantial holding relating to the sculptor Antonio Canova, who was born nearby at Possagno.