The cultural life of Milan was not as concentrated as
that of Florence, nor was its system of artistic
production so advanced. Still receptive to Northern
ideas after the decline of International Gothic, and
still reliant on the medieval-style organization of
skilled labor, the duchy was open to a variety of
outside influences, ranging from the Veneto to Liguria
and into Provence, fusing them with indigenous styles.
There are echoes of Ferrara in the sharply etched
features of Butinone's painting and in the sculpture of
the Mantegazza brothers, whereas the effects of Flemish
art are evident in the work of Donato de Bardi and
Zanetto Bugatto, who were sent to Brussels by Bianca
Maria Sforza. The former, a Pavian who emigrated to
Genoa, had a determining influence on Foppa, pioneer of
the Renaissance in Lombardy who blended the perspective
principles of Tuscany and Padua with a naturalism wholly
in accord with Lombard taste. There was a similar
quality to the tranquil, uniform style of Bergognone,
who painted in the Certosa of Pavia.
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Vincenzo Foppa, Annunciation, 1468,
Portinari Chapel, Sant'Eustorgio, Milan.
An authoritative reference point for the painting of
the 1470s, Foppa's painting was founded upon a
repertory of classical inspiration, interpreted with
an acute sensitivity to the values of chiaroscuro.
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