Remember to click on the artwork to see it clearly in an enlarged format!
Altichiero, also called Aldighieri da Zevio, or simply Altichiero of Verona, was born around 1330 somewhere near Zevio, Italy. He was a painter reflecting the art of that period, in other words, the late Byzantine style (note the Byzantine Madonna). But he is considered a proto-Renaissance painter, the effective founder of the Veronese school and perhaps the most significant northern Italian artist of the 14th century.
So what was the Veronese school? It is a school of art following in Giotto’s (1267/1276 – 1337) footsteps, breaking with the static Byzantine style of art by the creation of dynamic, life-like figures, with an intuitive sense of perspective. This resulted in the first truly three-dimensional images.
By March 1369 Altichiero was already a practicing painter living in Verona where he painted frescoes in the Scaglieri palace, as described by Vasari, who documented the history of Renaissance painters in his Lives of the Artists, written during the Renaissance. I will reference this book often.
Fresco is the technique of mural painting on freshly laid lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment and, with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall. Regrettably, Altichiero’s early frescoes were destroyed by the early eighteenth century, as was the Coronation of the Virgin in the church of the Eremitani in Padua, by Allied bombing towards the end of World War II.
Altichiero’s major surviving works are all frescoes. The first cycle in the church of Sant’Antonio, probably painted in collaboration with another artist, was completed in 1379. It includes a Crucifixion and scenes from the life of St. James, The second series of frescoes, in the neighboring Oratorio di San Giorgio, were completed in 1384, and show scenes from the lives of St. George and other saints . These frescoes show a style similar to Giotto in the portrayal of
related figures with a real sense of vitality. A restoration has revealed beauty and originality, a clear narrative, good portraiture, soft wonderful color, and clever anecdotal detail, all in elaborate late Gothic architectural settings.
He died around 1390, it is assumed in Verona.
Happy a-z….a lot of great information here, looking forward to learning more!
You can always skip the text and click on the artwork!
I love the lines on the Byzantine Madonna; it almost looks like a tapestry. The Beheading of St. George is my favorite though (by the featured artist, at least, Meeting at the Golden Gate is a stunning work of art, IMO).
Thanks for the great info!
I’m so glad you chose to write about artists. When I have time, I love to browse through the books I have on art. I love the history of it as well as finding present day wonders. I’m looking forward to your future posts.
Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com
Very interesting, Noelle. Love your subject matter.
That very first portrait, Madonna and child, you’ll find it all over church walls in Eastern Orthodox churches in Europe. Very well done.
I knew this challenge would be educational 🙂
Jemima
#TeamDamyanti
Blogging from Alpha to Zulu in April!
Reminds me so much of all the art history classes – loved! – I took in school. 🙂
Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
Minion, Capt. Alex’s Ninja Minion Army
The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge
Thanks to everyone for their nice comments. Glad you enjoyed this first post!
Wow! if I can carve out the time to read these, I’ll learn a lot!
Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian
I’m trying to keep them short but some just need a few more words!
Yours has got to be one of my favorite A-Z themes. Fantastic job on the post, and the pictures look gorgeous when I enlarge them.
It gives me chills to realize that they were painted so very long ago, and here we are, still enjoying them as they whiz across the worldwide web. 🙂 I’ll bet Altichiero (and your other featured artists) never imagined their work would endure into this kind of future!
I think you’d win your bet! Most of these painters were business men, and painting was a way to make a living. They must have wondered what would happened to their work, though.