- Lorenzo Monaco
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orig. Piero di Giovanniborn с 1370/71, Siena, Republic of Sienadied с 1425, Florence, Republic of FlorenceItalian painter.He took the vows of the Camaldolese order in Florence in 1391 (Monaco means "Monk"), but in 1402 he was enrolled in the painters' guild there under his lay name and living outside the monastery. His work combined the graceful lines and decorative feeling of the Sienese school with the traditions of the Florentine school. His Coronation of the Virgin (1413) reveals his predilection for swirling draperies and rhythmic, curvilinear forms and his understanding of light. His late frescoes in the Bartolini Chapel of Santa Trinità in Florence establish him as a master of Gothic art.
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▪ Italian painter(Italian: Lorenzo the Monk),original name Piero Di Giovanniborn c. 1370, /71, Siena, Republic of Sienadied c. 1425, FlorenceItalian painter in the International Gothic style whose work combined the rhythmic, graceful flow of line and decorative feeling of the Sienese school with the Florentine traditions of the followers of Giotto. He took the vows of the Camaldolese order in 1391 and lived mostly at the monastery of Sta. Maria degli Angeli, in Florence.His large polyptych “Madonna and Child” (1406–10; Uffizi, Florence) and the “Coronation of the Virgin” (1413; Uffizi, Florence) reflect his typically blond palette, his predilection for swirling draperies and rhythmic, curvilinear forms, and his knowledgeable use of light. Lorenzo's feeling for decorative composition and expressive line is especially evident in his small predella pieces, such as the three small fragments at the Accademia in Florence, representing the “Nativity,” the “Life of a Hermit,” and a stormy seascape. Such late works as his “Adoration of the Magi” (c. 1422; Uffizi, Florence) show Lorenzo's mature sense of design. During the final years of his life, he was influenced by the naturalism of Lorenzo Ghiberti (Ghiberti, Lorenzo), as can be seen in his frescoes of the “Life of the Virgin” and the “Annunciation Altarpiece” (1420–24; both in the Bartolini Chapel, Sta. Trinità, Florence). He was also a miniaturist, but no illuminations have been assigned to him with certainty.Additional ReadingMarvin Eisenberg, Lorenzo Monaco (1989).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
