Pomponio Amalteo (1505-1588) was a provincial painter based in the Veneto. He tended to devote himself to fresco-jobs at some of the less prestigious churches and town halls of the region. More than a fair share of his surviving work is time-ravaged.
The three drawings above on blue paper show Amalteo taking on the task of compressing groups of child-musicians inside the tapering trompe l'oeil pendentives of a planned ceiling-fresco. Today these artifacts are reckoned by the Metropolitan Museum (their current owner) as effectively priceless, even though they might well have been reckoned as little better than studio trash 500 years ago.
Other surviving fragments from the hand of this obscure master are ranged below. In addition to holdings at the Met, other of these artifacts are located in the Royal Collection and at the Morgan Library, while still others remain in the buildings for which they were intended.
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| Prophet Baruch |
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| Annunciation Duomo di Cividale del Friuli |
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| Baptism of Christ Chiesa di Santo Stefano, Venezia |
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| Two Apostles |
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| Two Riders |
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| Flight into Egypt |
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| Flight into Egypt |
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| Storie di SantAndrea Chiesa SantAndrea Portogruaro |
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| Urban Scene with Balconies Fresco fragment |
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| Coronation of the Virgin Santa Maria dei Battuti |
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| Affreschi nella loggia del Palazzo Municipale |