The Master of the Bigallo Crucifix or Bigallo Master (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1215/20-1265) was an Italian painter active around Florence in the first half of the 13th century. He ran one of the first fully organized workshops before Cimabue, specializing in large painted crucifixes for churches, one of the main formats for panel paintings at the time. His notname comes from one of these in the Museo del Bigallo in Florence. A similar work is in the Palazzo Barberini site of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica museum, Rome.

Life and work

His earliest established work is a dossal with four scenes, featuring Saint Zenobius, preserved at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. It was displayed at the Saint's actual tomb until 1439 and was created sometime during the term of Archbishop (1205-1230) when the altar was re-consecrated.Angelo Tartuferi, ''Il Maestro del Bigallo e la pittura della prima metà del Duecento agli Uffizi'', Firenze, Edizioni Polistampa, 2007. A slightly earlier "Madonna and Child" at Fiesole Cathedral has also been tentatively identified as his. The crucifix at the Museo del Bigallo likely dates from the first half of the 1230s. The "Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Saints" from the latter half of that decade has also been identified as his, although the poor state of preservation makes this determination difficult. It was originally at the in Certaldo and is now kept at the nearby .Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, ''Il Museo di Arte Sacra a Certaldo'', collana Biblioteca de "Lo Studiolo", Firenze, Becocci / Scala, 2001 The latest work known to be his is a crucifix at the

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. Unlike the others, which simply show Christ on the Cross, this one portrays him as "Cristo patiens" (Christ Suffering).

References

External links

Master of Bigallo
from the ''Enciclopedia dell' Arte Medievale'' @ Treccani {{DEFAULTSORT:Bigallo Crucifix, Master of the Italian painters 13th-century Italian painters Religious artists Crucifixes Anonymous artists Year of birth unknown

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links