ANDREA MELDOLLA known as LO SCHIAVONE? (Zadar, 1510/15 - Venice, 1563) Sleeping Couple in a Landscape Oil on panel, 171X234 cm Provenance: Mentana, Federico Zeri Collection Bibliography: A.G. De Marchi in Venti modi di essere Zeri, edited by M. Gregori, Turin 2001, pp. 80-87, fig. 34 E. M. Dal Pozzolo, Per Andrea Schiavone pittore: revisioni e aggiornamenti, in Splendori del Rinascimento a Venezia. Schiavone tra Parmigianino, Tintoretto e Tiziano, exhibition catalogue edited by E. M. Dal Pozzolo and L. Puppi, Milan 2015, pp. 77-102 (cited on p. 101) Wall-sized and painted on panel, the work belonged to Federico Zeri's collection and was located 'in the reception room' of his home in Mentana (De Marchi 2001, p. 83, fig. 34). The attribution to the painter Andrea Meldolla suggested in 2001 by De Marchi as a working hypothesis, was dictated, as the scholar reported, by a comparison with a painting depicting the Meeting of Joachim and Anne (Turin, private collection), the image of which was kept in Zeri's immense photographic archive (De Marchi 2001, p. 83, fig. 35) and was placed in the 'representative room' of Zeri's home (De Marchi 2001, p. 83, fig. 35). 83, fig. 35) and the supposition of their common genesis was accepted by him, conjecturing an original provenance: 'from some patrician residence in the Veneto hinterland'. In fact, both works have similar dimensions and a style that evokes the artist's name, so much so that the Turin work was later published with this reference, albeit again questioned (Dal Pozzolo 2015, p. 101). However, in addition to the attributive difficulty, Zeri's painting always raises the question of its illustrative significance, probably dedicated to a literary episode from antiquity. Having said this, the judgement on its quality remains unaltered, particularly for the landscape piece with its remarkable scenic effect and allusion to the Veneto countryside and its agricultural vocation. Reference bibliography: F. L. Richardson, Andrea Schiavone, Oxford 1980, ad vocem P. Rossi, in Margine a una nuova monografia di Andrea Schiavone e qualche aggiunta al catalogo dell'artista, in Arte Veneta XXXIV, 1980, pp. 78-95 E.M. Dal Pozzolo, Addenda ad A. Schiavone, in Per l'arte: da Venezia all'Europa, edited by M. Piantoni, I, Monfalcone 2001, pp. 177-182