Domenico Veneziano (c. 1410 – May 15, 1461) was an Italian painter of the early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, active mostly in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

and

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Domenico Veneziano - The Madonna and Child with Saints - WGA06428

Little is known of his birth, though he is thought to have been born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, hence his last name. He then moved to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

in 1422–23 as a boy, to become a pupil of

Gentile da Fabriano Gentile da Fabriano ( – 1427) was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic painter style. He worked in various places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany. His best-known works are his ''Adoration of the Magi ...

. He is said to have worked with Pisanello in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

around 1423–1430. His work was influenced by the style of

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

. In a letter from him to Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, dated from Perugia in 1438, where he likewise resided for many years, he mentions his long connection with the fortunes of the Medici family, and begs to be allowed to paint an altarpiece for the head of that house. He was a contemporary with

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

and

Fra Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orph ...

, since those two artists and himself are known to have valued the frescoes of Buonfigli at Perugia. Between 1439 and 1441 he painted a masterpiece of the ''Adoration of the Magi'', a round panel which was probably commissioned for the palace of the wealthy

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

family and is now in Berlin. Another masterpiece is considered to be the

Santa Lucia de' Magnoli Altarpiece The ''Santa Lucia de' Magnoli Altarpiece'' (Italian: ''Pala di Santa Lucia de' Magnoli'') is a painting by the Italian painter Domenico Veneziano, dated to around 1445–1447. Once placed at the high altar of the church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli, ...

(c. 1445–1447), originally in Santa Lucia dei Magnoli, Florence and now in the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

. Painted in tempera on panel, the altarpiece displays such an unusual palette for this period that

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

wrote that it had been painted in oil. He influenced

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in orde ...

. Other important works are the ''Madonna del Roseto'' in the

National Museum of Art of Romania The National Museum of Art of Romania ( ro, Muzeul Național de Artă al României) is located in the Royal Palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest. It features collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international ...

and the '' Madonna Berenson'' in the

Villa I Tatti Villa I Tatti, The Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies is a center for advanced research in the humanities located in Florence, Italy, and belongs to Harvard University. It houses a collection of Italian primitives, and of Chinese and ...

in Florence, both dating to around 1432–1437.

alleged that Domenico was murdered by

Andrea del Castagno Andrea del Castagno () or Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (; – 19 August 1457) was an Italian painter from Florence, influenced chiefly by Masaccio and Giotto di Bondone. His works include frescoes in Sant'Apollonia in Florence and the pain ...

. However, Castagno died c. 1457, four years before Domenico. He worked at the decorations of the Portinari chapel in the

hospital of Santa Maria Nuova The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova (i.e. ''Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova'' in Italian) is the oldest hospital still active in Florence, Italy. History and artistic profile Origins The hospital was founded in 1288 by Folco Portinari, the father ...

in Florence from 1439–1445, and had as his assistants

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...

and

Bicci di Lorenzo Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452) was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence. He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in the G ...

. It is certain that whilst employed there he used linseed oil as his medium, since the hospital books of that date make many allusions to this item in his expenses. His latter days were spent in Florence, where he died on May 15, 1461.

Predella of the Santa Lucia de' Magnoli Altarpiece

The

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

included panels with scenes of the saints of the main composition, and a central, double-size ''Annunciation'': the ''Stigmata of St. Francis'' and ''John Baptist in the Desert'' are currently in the National Gallery of Art in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, the ''Annunciation ''and ''The Miracle of St. Zenobius'' are in the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, and the ''Martyrdom of St. Lucy'' is in the

Berlin State Museums The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen ...

References

External links

Domenico Veneziano at the National Gallery of Art
{{Authority control Italian Renaissance painters Quattrocento painters Painters from Venice Painters from Tuscany 1410 births 1461 deaths Italian male painters 15th-century Italian painters Catholic painters