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Gentile da Fabriano

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Gentile da Fabriano
Gentile da Fabriano, in a portrait from the Lives by Giorgio Vasari
Gentile da Fabriano, in a portrait from the Lives by Giorgio Vasari
Born Gentile di Nicolò di Giovanni
c. 1370
Fabriano, Papal States
Died 1427 (aged 56–57)
Rome, Papal States
Known for Painting
Notable work Adoration of the Magi
Movement International Gothic

Gentile da Fabriano[1] (c. 1370 – 1427) was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic pictorial style. He worked in various places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany.

His best-known works are his Adoration of the Magi from the Strozzi Altarpiece (1423), and the Flight into Egypt. Following a visit to Florence in 1419, he came in contact with humanism, which influenced his work throughout the rest of his career.[2] He became highly influential on other painters in Florence, especially with his detailed representations inspired by his observations of the natural world.[3]

Biography

Early life in Fabriano (c. 1370-1400)

Gentile (di Niccolò di Massio) da Fabriano was born around 1370 in or near Fabriano, in the Marche.[4] His family included people active in the civic and religious life of the city. However, much of Gentile's early life remains undocumented.[4] His mother died before 1380, and in that year, his father, Niccolò di Giovanni Massi, retired to a monastery where he died in 1385.[5] Little is known of his education: one of his first known works, a Madonna and Child (c. 1395–1400, now in Berlin) shows the influence of paintings made in the northern Italian late-Gothic style.[6]

Around 1390 he was in Pavia at the court of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, where he left a painting of Madonna with the Children together with the saints Clara and Francis (now in the Pavia Civic Museums) and some frescoes depicting ladies in a room of the Visconti Castle.[7]

Venice (c. 1405–1420)

About 1405, Gentile da Fabriano was working in Venice.[8] He painted a panel for the church of Santa Sofia, now lost; Jacopo Bellini might have worked in his workshop.[4] Between 1408 and 1409, he painted a fresco (now lost) in the Doge's Palace depicting the naval battle between the Venetians and Otto III. In Venice, he met Pisanello and perhaps Michelino da Besozzo.[8] He also produced commissioned works for other cities during this period, such as his Madonna and Child (c. 1405–1410) for a church in Perugia.

In 1410–1411, Gentile was in Foligno, where he frescoed some of the walls of Palazzo Trinci. Gentile met the painter Michelino da Besozzo in Venice and became inspired by his sophisticated style.[4] Around 1410–1412, he painted what came to be known as one of his first masterworks, the Valle Romita Polyptych (now at the Pinacoteca di Brera). The altarpiece was probably commissioned by Chiavello Chiavelli in 1412. In 1414, he moved to Brescia, at the service of Pandolfo III Malatesta. During the following five years, he painted the Broletto Chapel, a work now mostly lost. While in Brescia in 1418, Gentile painted another panel that was later given as a gift to Pope Martin V, who had passed through the city on his way to Rome.[4]

Florence (c. 1420–1427)

On 6 August 1420, Gentile was in Florence,[8] where he painted his famous altarpiece depicting the Adoration of the Magi (1423) commissioned by Palla Strozzi.[9] This work, which is now in the Uffizi, is regarded as one of the masterpieces of the International Gothic style and had a lasting influence on Italian Renaissance painting.[4] This work demonstrated his improved naturalistic technique with the use of light to create dimensions and perspective.[4] His use of contrasting light brought the figures to life, making them appear more naturally human.[4] His other works in Florence include the Intercession Altarpiece (1420–1423) and the Quaratesi Polyptych (May 1425). In June–August 1425, he was in Siena, where he painted a Madonna with Child, now lost, for the Palazzo dei Notai in Piazza del Campo. Between August and October 1425, he was in Orvieto, where he painted a fresco of the Madonna and Child in the Cathedral, where it still remains today. The work has since been restored.

Between 1420 and 1425, Gentile painted another work, an Annunciation, in the Vatican Pinacoteca.[10] This painting contains a number of unique features and uses the so-called ut vitrum metaphor, that is a special use of light creating glass-like images.[10] Gentile also demonstrates this technique in the predella. The Nativity scene contains three different sources of light (the moon, the angel above and the Christ child) and represents the first realistic depiction of night in Renaissance art.[4]

Rome (1427)

In 1427 Gentile arrived in Rome. There, he was commissioned by Pope Martin V to decorate the nave of the Basilica of St. John in Lateran. However, Gentile is known to have died soon thereafter, before 14 October 1427. The nave would later be completed by Pisanello after Gentile's death. Gentile was reported buried in the church now called S. Francesca Romana in Florence, but his tomb can no longer be traced there; other sources report that he may be buried in the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, in Rome.[5]

Arabic influence: Mamluk metalwork

The Mamluk Sultanate is well-known for its production of metalwork objects, most of which include inscriptions in Arabic script.[11] Venice was among the early important centers of trade for Islamic goods in Europe, and in turn, traditional Islamic forms were highly desired by European patrons because of their associations with "exotic" Other of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.[12] Halos painted with patterns based on Mamluk metalworks reveal the types of commercial and artistic exchanges that were taking place in other Italian city-states, like Florence.[13] The fact that Florence secured two major seaports, Pisa and Livorno, in 1406 and 1421 respectively, illustrates the increased diplomatic ties between the Florentines and Mamluks.[13]

By the late thirteenth century, artists like Duccio and then later in the early fifteenth century, Gentile da Fabriano, were influenced by these types of Mamluk metalwork pieces and started to incorporate their patterns and motifs into their paintings.[14] In Gentile da Fabriano's Adoration of the Magi (1423), pseudo-Kufic inscriptions line the cloaks of several figures.[11] Such inscriptions also appear in the bold, ornamented halo of the Virgin Mary and Joseph, which are divided into four equal parts by rosettes, a design that derives from Mamluk plates.[15] An example of a Mamluk plate of the time is the Mamluk Philae Dish (c. 1345–1360), where four rosettes divide the Arabic script into quadrants.[16]

Halos with pseudo-kufic inscriptions are reflected in several of Gentile da Fabriano's paintings that were produced during his time in Florence including the Coronation of the Virgin from around 1420 and a Madonna with Child and Angels that is part of the Quaratesi Polyptych (1425). Moreover, Gentile da Fabriano's use of halos with Arabic inscriptions influenced other artists, including painter Masaccio, who began his use of pseudo-kufic halos as early as 1422, and can be seen later in his Pisa Altarpiece from 1426.ref?

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Gentile da Fabriano — Italian painter; b. probably about 1378 in the District of the Marches; d. probably 1427. The history of this artist has for a long time been involved in mystery, and even Vasari's statements concerning him have to be accepted with caution. Of his early life we still know nothing, but thanks to the investigations of Milanesi, Amico Ricci, and later on of Venturi and Corrado Ricci, we have a few definite facts concerning him. The earliest mention of him is concerned with the decoration of the large council hall in the doges' palace at Venice, which, it seems clear, must have been carried out between 1411 and 1414, probably in the former year, as the theory set up by Wickhoff, placing the work at a much later date, has now been proved to be untenable. In 1408, however, Gentile is known to have painted a large altar-piece in Venice for Francesco Amadi, and this date implies that he must have been resident in the city for some years previously, because it was not possible for an artist, who had not been born in Venice, to be accepted as a member of its school or guild, unless resident in the city for some considerable time before he made his application. Between April, 1414, and September, 1419, we know that he was painting in Brescia, decorating a chapel for Pandolfo Malatesta, and it was on the occasion of the visit which Pope Martin V made to Malatesta, when he was received at Chiari, that the pope invited Gentile to pay him a visit in Rome. We have evidence of the date on which he set out, because on the 18 September, 1419, he applied for a safe-conduct. There were serious difficulties, however, connected with the early days of the pontificate of Martin V, and Gentile only got as far as Florence, and could not proceed to Rome.

Of Gentile's residence in Florence we have evidence from the two applications he made, dated 23 March, and 6 April, 1420, that he might be relieved from the payment of tribute, inasmuch as he was only temporarily sojourning in Florence, and was on his way to his native city; but he could not have remained very long in Fabriano, because on 21 November, 1422, he figures in the deeds of matriculation connected with the doctors and painters of Florence, and in the following year he signs and dates his picture executed to the order of Palla Strozzi for the church of Santa Trinitè in that city. The evidence that he continued in Florence in 1423 is found in some deeds relating to a curious quarrel which took place between one of Gentile's pupils and a certain Bernardo, who threw some stones into the courtyard of the house where Gentile was, breaking some small pieces of sculpture which happened to be of great value to the artist.

Gentile's work in Siena has usually been assigned to the year 1426, but closer investigation shows that it was carried out in 1425, and a lease of a house in Siena taken for a month by the artist in that year is still in existence, and proves the date of the residence of Gentile in Siena, and the time that he took to paint the picture. It is dated 22 July, and at the end of August of the same year Gentile was in Orvieto, painting in the Duomo, as the archives of the cathedral prove. That work completed, he was at length able to leave for Rome, and in 1427 was at work in the church of San Giovanni in Laterano, and the records of his engagement and stipend have been printed. By 22 November, 1428, he was dead, because on that day, according to the evidence of the commune of Fabriano, his niece Maddalena took possession of the property of her uncle, who was declared to have died in Rome intestate. Further evidence of this date is given by a deed dated October, 1427, in which the master is spoken of as deceased, and these documents prove the inaccuracy of the statements of Vasari both as regards the date of Gentile's decease and the place where Vasari says he died, Cittè di Castello. Amico Ricci and Milanesi were inaccurate in stating that Gentile died after 1450, as they were misled by a phrase "autore requisito" which occurs in a document representing the visit of Roger van der Weyden to Rome, when he visited San Giovanni in Laterano, and saw the paintings of Gentile. He expressed the greatest admiration for the work, and according to Ricci and Milanesi called the author of the paintings before him. Inasmuch as the visit took place in 1450, these two authors placed Gentile's decease after that date, but the phrase refers to the author having died, and this is proved by the two documents just cited.

These few facts practically embrace all that we definitely know respecting this artist. He is said to have learned his art under Allegretto Nuzzi. His family name is by some writers given as Maso or Massi, and his burial is said to have taken place in Santa Francesca Romana in the Campo Vaccino, but all these statements are for the present matters of conjecture. He was probably born at Fabriano in the March of Ancona, according to the evidence of his name, but Nuzzi is believed to have died when Gentile was fifteen years old, and therefore he could have derived very little instruction from Nuzzi. Two of his pictures are dated, the "Adoration of the Kings" in the Academy at Florence, 1423; and the group of saints in San Nicolò in the same city, 1425. His best work in Rome and Venice has perished, but he is well represented in the Brera Gallery in Milan, the galleries of Perugia, Paris, and Berlin; and important pictures in the Heugel collection in Paris and the Stroganoff collection in St. Petersburg are now accepted as being from his hand. Of his work in Rome there is a representation of the miracle of St. Nicholas to be seen in the Vatican Gallery, and part of his work in Orvieto still remains. A picture in the royal collection at Buckingham Palace is attributed to him, with considerable evidence in its favour; and his paintings are also to be seen at Settignano, in the municipal gallery at Pisa, and in the Jarves collection at Newhaven in the United States, but his most important work is the large picture in the Academy in Florence, a painting of remarkable excellence and extraordinary beauty. In his birthplace there is one picture representing St. Francis, which is probably a genuine work. His paintings are distinguished by great magnificence of colour and marked by his peculiar method of high relief in gesso work, and by the remarkable use he made of small portions of the most brilliant colour, applied in conjunction with masses of gold. He may be accepted as one of the greatest masters of his period, and as a man exceedingly skilful in composition, and full of grand ideas as regards colouring and effect, for in the combination of rich colour with gold he has seldom if ever been equalled amongst decorative painters.

ARDUINO COLASANTI, Gentile da Fabriano (Bergamo, 1909); AMICO RICCI, Memorie Storiche delle Arti e degli Artisti della Marca di Ancona (Macerata, 1834); GIULIO CANTALAMESSA, Vecchi affreschi a S. Vittoria in Matenano in Nuova Revista Misena, III, 1; A. AND A. LONGHI, L'anno della morte di Gentile da Fabriano (Fano, 1887); VASARI, Vite de' più eccelenti pittori (Florence, 1550); also edited by MILANESI (Florence, 1878-85); BRYAN'S Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, ed. WILLIAMSON, III (London and New York, 1904), s. v. Massi.

References

  1. Back to citation Pronunciation: UK: /dʒɛnˌtiːleɪ dæ ˌfæbriˈɑːnoʊ/, US: /dʒɛnˌtiːleɪ dɑː ˌfɑːbriˈɑːnoʊ, - də ˌ-, -iːli də ˌ-/, "Gentile da Fabriano" (US) and "Gentile da Fabriano". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-09-30. "Gentile da Fabriano". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 1 June 2019. "Gentile da Fabriano". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. OCLC 1032680871. Retrieved 1 June 2019. Italian: [dʒenˈtiːle da (f)fabriˈaːno].
  2. Back to citation Panczenko, Russell (1983). "English Summary of Gentile da Fabriano and Classical Antiquity". Artibus et Historiae. 4 (8): 167–68. JSTOR 1483219.
  3. Back to citation "Gentile da Fabriano".
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 Back to citation occurrence 4.3 Back to citation occurrence 4.4 Back to citation occurrence 4.5 Back to citation occurrence 4.6 Back to citation occurrence 4.7 Back to citation occurrence 4.8 Wohl, Hellmut (2003). "Gentile (di Niccolò di Massio) da Fabrianoo". Gentile (Di Niccolò di Massio) da Fabriano. Grove Art Online. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article. T031359. ISBN 9781884446054.
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Wohl, Hellmut (2003). Gentile (di Niccoló di Massio) da Fabriano. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article. T031359. ISBN 978-1-884446-05-4.
  6. Back to citation Vasari, Giorgio (2008). Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors & Architects. London: Philip Lee Warner. pp. 107–117.
  7. Back to citation Cairati, Carlo (2021). Pavia viscontea. La capitale regia nel rinnovamento della cultura figurativa lombarda. I. Il castello tra Galeazzo II e Gian Galeazzo (1359-1402). Milano: Scalpendi Editore. pp. 181–184. ISBN 9791259550187.
  8. Back to citation occurrence 8.0 Back to citation occurrence 8.1 Back to citation occurrence 8.2 Panczenko, Russell (1983). "Cultura umanistica di Gentile da Fabriano". Artibus et Historiae. 4 (8): 27–75. doi:10.2307/1483214. JSTOR 1483214.
  9. Back to citation Mack, Rosamond E. (2001). Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600. University of California Press. pp. 63–65. ISBN 0520221311.
  10. Back to citation occurrence 10.0 Back to citation occurrence 10.1 Hodne, Lasse (2014). "Light Symbolism in Gentile da Fabriano's Vatican Annunciation". 3 (2): 33–49.
  11. Back to citation occurrence 11.0 Back to citation occurrence 11.1 Christian, Kathleen (2017). European Art and the Wider World 1350-1550. Manchester University Press. pp. 29–33.
  12. Back to citation Christian, Kathleen (2017). European Art and the Wider World 1350-1550. Manchester University Press. pp. 29–33.
  13. Back to citation occurrence 13.0 Back to citation occurrence 13.1 Christian, Kathleen (2017). European Art and the Wider World 1350-1550. Manchester University Press. pp. 29–33.
  14. Back to citation Mack, Rosamond E. (2002). Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600. University of California Press. pp. 63–65. ISBN 0520221311.
  15. Back to citation Mack, Rosamond E. (2002). Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600. University of California Press. pp. 63–65. ISBN 0520221311.
  16. Back to citation "Mamluk Philae Dish". The MET.

Bibliography

  • Mack, Rosamond E. (2001). Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300–1600. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22131-1.
  • Gentile da Fabriano e l'altro Rinascimento, catalogo della mostra (in Italian). Fabriano: Electa. 2006. Exposition lasting 21 April–23 July 2006.
  • Marcelli, Fabio (2005). Gentile da Fabriano (in Italian). Silvana.
  • De Marchi, Andrea (1992). Gentile da Fabriano. Un viaggio nella pittura italiana alla fine del gotico (in Italian). Federico Motta (published 2006).
  • Łada, Justyna (2004). Obraz Maryi z Dzieciątkiem Gentile da Fabriano jako przykład typu Madonny (in Polish). Roczniki Humanistyczne KUL.
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