User:HannahPark0709/Domenico di Bartolo

Domenico di Bartolo, born in Siena, was a Sienese painter during the Renaissance period. According to Italian painter and architect Georgio Vasari, Domenico di Bartolo was the nephew of well reputed Italian artist Taddeo di Bartolo, who is featured in Vasari's "Lives of Artists'. During his artistic career, di Bartolo was employed by Italian artist Vecchietta, otherwise known as Lorenzo di Pietro. Di Bartolo first surfaced into the world of Renaissance art in 1420. He, along with several other unknown artists, was documented to be part of a project to paint the Cathedral of Siena. In was only in 1428, when the list of the painters' guild (also known as Ruolo dei pittori) surfaced, that di Bartolo 's name had appeared on writing for the first time. His first work that is signed and dated was in 1433 for the production of The Madonna of Humility and 4 Music-Making angels. In 1433 he also painted Virgin and Child Surrounded by Saints. A year later, in 1434, Bartolo provided a design for a pavement plaque in the Cathedral based on a drawing of the Emperor Sigismund, who sojourned at Siena in 1432 and 1433. From 1435 to 1440 the painter was engaged in a fresco commission for the Cathedral's sacristy. This work, however, was interupted in 1438 which gave di Bartolo time to go to Perugia to paint an altarpiece for the monastery church of Santa Giuliana, which is now displayed in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. In 1437 he also took on a contract to execute an altarpiece for the monks of Sant'Agostino at Asciano. During 1439 he had been paid for work in the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala. The frescoes executed in the Pellegrinaio of the hospital between 1439 and 1440 represent scenes of the institution's history and good works; the are they artist's last finished works and are considered to be his masterpiece. For the most part, di Bartolo 's work was based at Perugia, and his only known activity outside of Siena may have been at Florence as his first biographer, Giorgio Vasari, records works carried out by him in the Carmine and Santa Trinita. February 18, 1446, di Bartolo 's wife Antonia Pannilini is mentioned as officially a widow. On January 1440 he was married to Anotnia Pannilini.

Early Life

Domenico di bartolo was born in Asciano, near Siena. He carried the family name Ghezzi. His timeline places his work within Italian , and, more specifically, Sienese art . He was a nephew of Taddeo di Bartolo, who was another reputal Italian Painter working in the School fo Art during the early Renaissance. Tddeo di Bartolo is featured in Georgio Vasari's Vite, otherwise known as Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. There is only one document that could potentially be associated with the painter before 1428. In the Opera del Duomo payments for 1420, a certain Domenico di Bartolo -otherwise unidentified- is compensated two soldi for his work as a gharzone di butigha. The term Gharzone can be used to define a positions ranging from a full-fledged apprntice to a mere helper or worker. If the document indeed were to refer to di Bartolo , he was most likely at the beginning stages of his training, and only eight years later in 1428 he finally made a standing for himself by being acknowledged in the guild itself. On the basis of this payment document in 1420, it is most probable that di Bartolo was born sometime between 1400 and 1405.

The payment documents for Opera del Duomo show that, at the time, the Opera was overseeing several important sculptural commissions: a new pulpit for the Council of Siena, the decoration of the Cathedral pavement, and most importantly the construction of a new baptisty font. It is recorded that some of the most progressive artists in all of Tuscany were involved in these projects: Ghilberti, Donatello, Francesco di Valdambrino, Domenico di Niccolo' de' Cori, and Jacopo della Quercia. It is there for not a surprise that di Bartolo 's first extant painting, the Madonna of Humility of 1433, possessed strong sculptural qualities. It is highly likely that during the time that di Bartolo worked as a Gharzone for the Opera's projects, he received many influences from many of the mentioned sculptors. Other contemporary artists that existed during di Bartolo's time were Sassetta and giovanni di Paolo, who were already active master painters by their early twenties. Both Sassetta and Giovanni di Paolo focused more on the linear and emotive qualities of drawing, whereas di Bartolo conceived of forms in rounded masses.

The Madonna of Humility

Domenico di Bartolo's Madonna of Humility of 1433 is recorded to be the artist's first ever commissioned piece of artwork. The painting is said to be a referal to a relief sculpture carried out by sculptor Jacopo della Quercia, who, himself, was considered to be a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. Jacopo della Quercia was one of the progressive artists of Tuscany who, along with di Bartolo, was involved in the art commission for Opera del Duomo back 1420. Part of the Madonna of Humility's fame and recognition comes from its strong sculptural references, many of which align with the artistic styles of Jacopo della Quercia. The painting has a sculptural sense of gravity, a kind of gothic flexibility in the draper which creates soft pockets of shadows, adding a new kind of weightiness of the figure and to the overall image. The same concepts are shown in Jacopo della Quercia's work of Madonna in the Fonte Gaia. Both artists recall back to international gothic art by presenting their figures with bunched drapery and a gentle flow of line. It is therefor entirely possible that Jacopo della Quercia may have even provided some guidance in the creation of di Bartolo's work. This type of mentorship is comparable to that of Ghiberti in Florence, who, as stated in the Commentarii, provided the same kind of assistance to the painters in that city during his time. Another situation that can attest to Jacopo and di Bartolo 's professional relationship comes from the fact that after Jacopo was elected to be the overseeing operator of the Cathedral of Siena's works, di Bartolo secured himself works to paint in the sacristy.

Di Bartolo must have visited Pisa and Florence sometime in the late 1420s, where he would have witnessed paintings executed by Massaccio, who was considered by Georgio Vasari to be one of the best painters of his time, as well as the first great Italian painters of the Quattrocento period of the Italian renaissance. Massacio was commended for his refined skills in imitating nature, recreating lifelike movements in his subjects, as well as his consistent success in creating a convincing three dimensionality to his paintings. di Bartolo 's observations of Massacio's painting would have proved to be an educational experience as he later is seen to utilize a type of artistic technique called circular-arc composition within the Madonna of Humility. The five angels are arranged in a semi circle, creating significantly more tangible space for the presentation of the Virgin, without, however, affecting the flat picture plane caused by the isocephalic distribution of the angels' heads. This kind of semi-circular composition was used by Massacio in works such as the Adoration of the Magi for the Pisa altarpiece. This technique was considered to be an effective way of organizing a large number of figures that exist in a complicated narrative scene, into a single simple geometric configuration.

There are also other artistic elements within di Bartolo 's Madonna of Humility that derive from Florentine sources. The frontal view of The Virgin , who is presented in an asymmetric composition, is said to have been inspired by Masaccio's Madonna of Humility. Foreshortened halos and Virgin's crown were rare during the time that di Bartolo's painting was executed, and can only be found in the Pisa altarpiece executed by Massacio. There, too, is an illustration of the baby with fingers in his mouth, which strongly recalls back to Massacio's Pisa altarpiece, which illustrates the Christ child eating grapes. Di Bartolo 's Madonna of Humility successfully models lights and darks within the flesh tones, and this too is done in the style of Masaccio.

Di Bartolo is praised for capitalizing on these florentine elements, and is considered a hero in Sienese painting because of how early on in his career he has managed to adopt the Florentine Renaissance style. Vasari notes that sometime in his career,di Bartolo painted altarpieces for Florentine churchs, which confirms such appraisals and evaluations that di Bartolo was competent enough in analyzing and infering from the Florentine aspects of Renaissance art. However, di Bartolo is still considered by many Sienese and Renaissance art critics to be a Sienese painters with acquired Florentine tates, and not a progressive Florentine painter. The work of the Madonna of Humility is considered Sienese, and di Bartolo himself is considered a young artist who is attracted and eagerly open to new ideas but perhaps has not yet assimilated the ideas to a profound meaning.

The Theology that seems to have influenced the Madonna of Humility aligns with a preacher and proclaimed saint known as Bernardino Albizzeschi (1380-1444, canonized 1450). Albizzeschi is considered to be one of the major religious and political figures that have shapes the outcomes of di Bartolo's artworks and have influenced the overall success of di Bartolo as an artist. During his time, Barnardino Albizzeschi was considered to be one of the most followed, loved and vilified men in Italy. He himself was not unfamiliar with the art world during his time, for he was known to favor canonized artistic images from the Sienese trecento, and therefor influencing the subsequent production of many Sienese artworks. In the Madonna of Humility, the common salutation inscripted on the painting - "Ave Maria"- is replaced by the term "Ave Stella Maris", which means "Hail Star of the Sea". Although this ancient attribute originated early on in Christian etymology for the name Mary, there is no existing record of an author before Bernadino who had written so intricately about the term's meaning.

In regards to who actually commissioned di Bartolo's first work the answer remains entirely ambuguous. However, two likely candidates to consider in this aspect are Casini and Bartoli, both of whom were Bishops of Siena from 1408 and 1427 respectively. Both Casini and Bartoli were close to Bernadino, back then Bartoli was the rector of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scalla from 1410 to 1427. Bernadino promotes Bartoli's position to a Bishop as a means to draw closer the relationship between the city's church and the hospital.

The Sigsimund Plaque

In 1434, di Bartolo also conceived and designed a fresco panel with the representation of Emperor Sigismund Enthroned for the Siena Cathedral. Between 1439 and 1444, di Bartolo particated in the decoration of the Pilgrim's hall in the Hospital of Maria della Scala in Siena, where he followed the artistic styles of Vecchietta and consequently produced six frescoes, all of which were signed by di Bartolo himself. Whilst many of his personal works are executed in Sienese artistic styles, di Bartolo still possessed a thorough understanding of the innovations and traditions of Florentine painting, often drawing style inspirations from the work of Massacio and Donnatello. di Bartolo also often quoted paintings which demonstrated a more Gothic style and approach, as shown in the frescoes di Bartolo painted for the Maria dell Scala hospital in Siena. di Bartolo 's artistic education show an early understanding of Florentine style art, as well as deep awareness for the new artistic language of the Renaissance period. di Bartolo 's first artistic piece that was commissioned to him was a panel of the Virgin and Child Enthroned with SS Peter and Paul. The Virgin in the panel is crowned with a garland, pinned by putti, is reminiscent of that of the works of Donatello. As the Virgin sits on the marble throne holding the masculine and muscular child, the overall composition infers on a model by Masaccio, whose early work, like di Bartolo 's, shares features of the sculpture of Luca della Robbia. di Bartolo also used halos with star points, which is a another feature of Florentine style and element that was derived from Paulo Uccello.

While Vasari states in his literature that Taddeo di Bartolo was di Bartolo's uncle, di Bartolo 's strongly florentine orientated artistic works have come to refute the apparent theory that di Bartolo was trained by Taddeo. Vasari writes that di Bartolo spent the majority of his artistic career working in Florence, producing an Annunciation for Santa Trinata and the alterpiece of S Maria de Carmine, both dated for 1436. Both these pieces display strong familiarity with Masaccio's frescoes in the Carmine, which is significantly different that of the artistic styles of Taddeo. It is, however, confirmed that Vecchietta, who mentored di Bartolo, was once a pupil of Taddeo di Bartolo.

The panel of the Virgin and Child Enthroned is considered to be di Bartolo's masterpiece and, connected with the Carmine commission, one of the key pieces produced of 15th Century Sienese painting. Di Bartolo is commended and praised for his balanced composition that intertwines refined expression with broad cultural references. The masterpiece is said to have been commissioned by either Cardinal Antonio Casini or Bishop Carlo Bartolo. the Virgin and Child Enthroned represents a interdisciplinary synthesis of all the Flortine artists that have influenced di Bartolo's artistic style, including that of Uccello, Massacio and Donatello. Di Bartolo draws from Donatello's sculptural style into painting by placing key emphasis on dynamic sculptural quality and simulated low-relief effects. It is likely that Donatello's Siene works, produced by the late 1420s, inspired di Bartolo to more to Florence to expand his artistic education. However, he returned back to Siena before April 1433, as documents show that he completed yet another artistic piece, this time the portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Sigsimund (reg 1410-1437). The portrait was soon reinterpreted into the marble pavement of the Siena Cathedral in the following year.

Adult Career

From 1435 to 1440, di Bartolo continued to produce artistic pieces for the Cathedral of Sienna, although only a small fragment of his works have survived to exist today. He frescoed scenes from the Lives of the Four Patron Saints of Siena. For these frescoes, however, di Bartolo seemed to turn away from his Florentine influences and interests and began to reflect more traditional Gothic styles. This is especially apparently for an altarpiece painted in 1438 for S Giuliana, Perugia. From 1440 to 1444, di Bartolo produced one of his most significant works, another masterpiece, which were a series of frescoes for the pilgrims' hotel in the Ospedale di S Maria della Scala, Siena. The frescoes were said to have been commissioned by Giovanni Buzzichelli, who was the hotel's rector. The frescoes illustrate daily life as well as the history of the Sienese hospital. Di Bartolo was assigned five scenes: three with everyday life episode and the other two with events that have occurred from the history of the hospital.

Death

Di Bartolo's last ever (dated) commission was the fresco of the Coronation of the Virgin in the Cancelleria di Biccherna, for the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena. He began to paint four angel heads but his work was interrupted by his death in 1445. Soon after, the fresco was completed by another Sienese artist Sano di Pietro.