Exploration: Gothic
Era (Gothic
and Early Renaissance)
PAINTING
Tommaso da Modena
Tommaso da Modena
(b Modena, 1325–6; d before 16 July
1379). Italian painter.
He was the son of a Modenese painter, Barisino
Barisini ( fl 1317; d 1343), who probably
taught him the craft. Tomaso was absent from Modena in
1346 and has been assumed to have continued his training
in Bologna after his father’s death, probably in the
workshop of Vitale da Bologna: his art shows knowledge
of the subject-matter and techniques of Bolognese
illumination, as well as dependence on the style and
work of Vitale. Two panel paintings probably belong to
this period: a small triptych (410*388 mm; Modena, Gal.
& Mus. Estense) and the centre of a reliquary triptych
(Bologna, Pin. N.). The little triptych is signed with a
prayer to the Virgin; its date, repainted and variously
interpreted, may be 1345. The subject-matter of holy
hermits and martyrs and the Descent into Limbo
shares the solemn tone of the prayer. The dramatic
composition, the facial types and rich brushwork are
strongly influenced by Vitale. The reliquary panel has
three registers, the central one with three images of
the Virgin: showing her pregnant and reading, feeding
the Christ Child, and knitting his seamless tunic. The
four elegant Virgin Martyrs below are dressed in the
latest and finest fashions; such figures are frequently
found in Tomaso’s work. The damaged St Agnes of
this panel is the only example to preserve the full
richness of his conception of courtly dress.
Cardinal Nicholas of
Rouen
1351-52
Chapter House, San Niccolò, Treviso
Saint Albert the Great
The Departure of St.
Ursula
1355-58
Museo Civico, Treviso.
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