The Master of the Cypresses is a

notname In art history, a (, "name of necessity" or "contingency name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled or generically titled works a ...

invented by the art historian Diego Angulo Íñiguez in 1928 for a painter and

manuscript illuminator An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers and liturgical books such as psalters and ...

working in Seville around the years 1420–1440. The name derives from the frequent appearance of pointed green trees in the backgrounds of figural scenes that resemble the

Mediterranean Cypress ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Iran. While some studies show it ha ...

. These trees, however, only appear in historiated initials painted in choirbooks for

Seville Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (), better known as Seville Cathedral (), is a Catholic cathedral and former mosque in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alc� ...

. Angulo ascribed particular Italian influences to the Master of the Cypresses, including

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

, along with strong characteristics of

early Netherlandish Early Netherlandish painting is the body of work by artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period, once known as the Flemish Primitives. It flourished especially in the ...

painting. Wall paintings in the refectory at the Ex-Monastery of San Isidoro del Campo and the illumination of a bible currently residing at the

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

museum in Madrid (MS I.I.3) have also been attributed to this master, argued by the art historian Rosario Marchena Hidalgo to be identified as Nicolás Gómez.Rosario Marchena Hidalgo, ''Nicolás Gómez: miniaturista, pintor e ilustrador de libros del siglo XV.'' Seville: Diputación de Sevilla, 2007.

References

15th-century Spanish painters Cypresses, Master of the Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Manuscript illuminators {{Spain-artist-stub