born c. 1370, Fabriano, Papal States, Italy
died 1427, Rome
original name Niccolo Di Giovanni Di Massio foremost painter
of centralItaly at the beginning of the 15th century, whose
few surviving works are among the finest examples of the
International Gothic style.
An early signed work by Gentile has stylistic affinities
with Lombard painting and suggests that he was trained in
the Lombard school. In 1409 Gentile was commissioned to
decorate the Doges' Palace inVenice with historical
frescoes, which were later completed by Il Pisanello. In
1414–19 Gentile was in Brescia working for Pandolfo III
Malatesta. His final important cycle of frescoes was begun
in Rome in the Church of St. John Lateranshortly before his
death. As with the frescoes in Venice, they were completed
by Il Pisanello.
His surviving masterpiece, the “Adoration of the Magi,” was
completed in 1423 for the Church of Santa Trinità, in
Florence. Its graceful figures are clothed in velvets and
rich brocades, and the Magi are attended by Oriental
retainers, who look after such exotic animals as lions and
camels. Its delicate linearity and vibrant colours enhance
the effect of rich exoticism. The decorativeness of its
elegant, courtly style continued to influence Florentine
artists throughout the century and presented a
counterattraction to the austererealism introduced by
Masaccio. Gentile also produced a number of Madonnas, such
as the altarpiece known as the Quaratesi Polyptych (1425),
which show the Mother and Child, regally clad, sitting on
the ground in a garden.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Madonna with the Child
1425
Fresco
Duomo, Orvieto
Gentile da Fabriano
(b Fabriano, c. 1385; d Rome,
before 14 Oct 1427). Italian painter and draughtsman. He
was the most important Italian representative of the
elaborate Late Gothic style of painting that dominated
European painting around 1400. He was a consummate
master of naturalistic rendering, narrative invention
and detail, and ornamental refinement. He introduced a
new relationship between painting and nature through the
depiction of three-dimensional space and the
representation of natural lighting. This relationship,
established at the same time but in much more radical
form by Masaccio, was central to the art of the
Renaissance.
Coronation of the Virgin
and Saints
c. 1400
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Adoration of the Magi
1423
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
