Tomaso Barisini, better known as Tommaso da Modena and sometimes called Tomaso Baffini (1326 – 1379) was an Italian painter of the mid-14th century.

Biography

Tommaso trained 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 ...

and worked mostly in Northern Italy, but also worked for the court of the

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. In Karlstein Castle, two pictures on wood are attributed to him, an ''Ecce Homo'' and a ''Madonna''. A ''St Catherine'' is in the

Gallerie dell'Accademia The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery o ...

in Venice. Perhaps Tommaso's most important work was done in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...

. In 1352 as an expression of the Dominican intellectual vocation Tommaso was commissioned to paint a fresco cycle of 40 Dominicans scholars at their desks including Popes, Cardinals, theologians, and philosophers. The work is in the chapter room of the former Dominican convent of San Nicolo' at

, now a seminary. Among others, the cycle portrays Cardinal Annibale Annibaldi, Doctor of the Church

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

, Cardinal

Hugh Aycelin Hugh Aycelin (1230, Billom – 28 December 1297, Rome) was a French Cardinal. He was also known as Hughes of Billom (also Billo or Billay), Ugo Billomo, Hughes Séguin, Ugo Seguin de Billon, Hughes Aycelin de Montaigut and Hugues Séguin de Billon ...

, and Cardinal Latino Malabranca Orsini, all of whom were professors of the Dominican ''studium'' at

Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina ( la, Basilica Sanctae Sabinae, it, Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Pre ...

the forerunner of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'', as well as Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Albert the Great Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...

founder of the Dominican ''studium'' at Cologne, and renowned biblical commentator Cardinal Hugh of Saint-Cher. The portrait of Saint-Cher is the earliest known depiction of a person wearing

spectacles Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples o ...

.http://dominicanhistory.blogspot.com/2011/05/forty-dominicans-at-their-desks.html Accessed 3-1-2013; http://www.lionstrevisoduse.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tomaso/html/opere/dom_txt.htm Accessed 3-1-2013

References

Sources

* 14th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Venice Painters from Modena Year of death missing Year of birth missing {{Italy-painter-14thC-stub