![Fra bartolomeo 02 Vision of St Bernard with Sts Benedict and John the Evangelist](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Fra_bartolomeo_02_Vision_of_St_Bernard_with_Sts_Benedict_and_John_the_Evangelist.jpg)
Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo (, , ; 28 March 1472 – 31 October 1517), also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di S. Marco, and his original nickname Baccio della Porta, was an
Italian Renaissance painter
Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political stat ...
of religious subjects. He spent all his career in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
until his mid-forties, when he travelled to work in various cities, as far south as Rome. He trained with
Cosimo Rosselli
Cosimo Rosselli (; 1439–1507) was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, active mainly in his birthplace of Florence, but also in Pisa earlier in his career and in 1481–82 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, where he painted some of the large ...
and in the 1490s fell under the influence of
Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
, which led him to become a
Dominican friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
in 1500, renouncing painting for several years. Typically his paintings are of static groups of figures in subjects such as the Virgin and Child with Saints.
He was instructed to resume painting for the benefit of his order in 1504, and then developed an idealized
High Renaissance
In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
style, seen in his ''Vision of St Bernard'' of that year, now in poor condition but whose "figures and drapery move with a seraphic grace that must have struck the young
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
with the force of revelation". He remained friends with Raphael, and each influenced the other.
His portrait of Savonarola remains the best known image of the reformer. Fra Bartolomeo painted both in oils and fresco, and some of his drawings are pure landscape sketches that are the earliest of this type from any Italian artist.
Life
He was born in
Savignano di Prato
Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...
,
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
. He received the nickname of Baccio della Porta (“Baccio of the Gate”), for his house was near the Gate of San Pier Gattolini.
Starting from 1483 or 1484, by recommendation of
Benedetto da Maiano
Benedetto da Maiano (1442 – May 24, 1497) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor.
Biography
Born in the village of Maiano (now part of Fiesole), he started his career as companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When he r ...
, he apprenticed in the workshop of
Cosimo Rosselli
Cosimo Rosselli (; 1439–1507) was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, active mainly in his birthplace of Florence, but also in Pisa earlier in his career and in 1481–82 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, where he painted some of the large ...
. In 1490 or 1491 he began a collaboration with
Mariotto Albertinelli
Mariotto di Bindo di Biagio Albertinelli (13 October 1474 – 5 November 1515) was an Italian Renaissance painter active in Florence. He was a close friend and collaborator of Fra Bartolomeo.Ludovico Borgo and Margot Borgo.Albertinelli, Mariotto ...
. In the late 1490s, Baccio was drawn to the teachings of
Fra Girolamo Savonarola, who denounced what he viewed as vain and corrupt contemporary art. Savonarola argued for art serving as a direct visual illustration of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
to educate those unable to read the book. From 1498 is his famous portrait of Savonarola, now in the
Museo Nazionale di San Marco
Museo Nazionale di San Marco is an art museum housed in the monumental section of the medieval Dominican convent of San Marco dedicated to St Mark, situated on the present-day Piazza San Marco, in Florence, a region of Tuscany, Italy.
The mus ...
in Florence. The following year he was commissioned a fresco of the ''Universal Judgement'' for the
Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova, completed by Albertinelli and
Giuliano Bugiardini
Giuliano di Piero di Simone Bugiardini (29 January 1475 – 17 February 1555) was an Italian Renaissance painter. He was born and was mainly active in Florence."Bugiardini, Giuliano." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. ...
when Baccio became a
Dominican friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
on 26 July 1500. The following year he entered the convent of San Marco.
He renounced painting for several years, not resuming until 1504 when he became the head of the monastery workshop in obedience to his superior. In that year he began a ''Vision of St. Bernard'' for Bernardo Bianco's family chapel in the
Badia Fiorentina
The Badìa Fiorentina is an abbey and church now home to the Monastic Communities of Jerusalem situated on the Via del Proconsolo in the centre of Florence, Italy. Dante supposedly grew up across the street in what is now called the ' Casa di Dant ...
, finished in 1507. Soon thereafter,
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
visited Florence and befriended the friar. Bartolomeo learned perspective from the younger artist, while Raphael added skills in coloring and handling of drapery, which was noticeable in the works he produced after their meeting. With Raphael, he remained on the friendliest terms, and when he departed from Rome, left in his hands two unfinished pictures which Raphael completed.
At the beginning of 1508, Bartolomeo moved to
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
to paint a ''Holy Father, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Catherine of Siena'' for the Dominicans of
San Pietro Martire in
Murano
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...
, influenced somewhat by Venetian colorism. As the Dominicans did not pay for the work, he took it back to
Lucca
Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957.
Lucca is known as one o ...
, where it can be seen now. Also in Lucca, in October 1509, he painted with Albertinelli an altarpiece of the ''Madonna and Child with Saints'' for the
local cathedral. On 26 November 1510
Pier Soderini
Piero di Tommaso Soderini (March 17, 1451 – June 13, 1522) also known as Pier Soderini, was an Italian statesman of the Republic of Florence.
Biography
Soderini was born in Florence to Tommaso di Lorenzo Soderini, a member of an old family w ...
commissioned him an altarpiece for the Sala del Consiglio of Florence, now in the Museum of San Marco. Two years later he finished another altarpiece for the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
of
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
.
In 1513, he went to Rome, where he painted a ''Peter and Paul'', now in the
Pinacoteca Vaticana
The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...
, while from the following years are the ''
St. Mark Evangelist'' of
Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...
in Florence and the frescoes in the Dominican convent of Pian di Mugnone, a
frazione
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
of
Fiesole
Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.
Sin ...
, just outside Florence. After a promised ''Feast of Venus'' for Duke
Alfonso I d'Este
Alfonso d'Este (21 July 1476 – 31 October 1534) was Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai.
Biography
He was the son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Eleanor of Naples and became duke on Ercole's death i ...
of
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
, of which only drawings remain, his last work is a fresco of ''
Noli me tangere'' also in Pian di Mugnone.
![Fra bartolomeo 03 Christ with the Four Evangelists](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Fra_bartolomeo_03_Christ_with_the_Four_Evangelists.jpg)
He died in Florence in 1517.
Works
Style
![Fra Bartolomeo - The Adoration of the Christ Child (detail) - WGA01358](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Fra_Bartolomeo_-_The_Adoration_of_the_Christ_Child_%28detail%29_-_WGA01358.jpg)
Initially, his works showed the influence of Rosselli's assistant,
Piero di Cosimo
Piero di Cosimo (2 January 1462 – 12 April 1522), also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance.
He is most famous for the mythological and allegorical subjects he painted in the late Quattrocento; he is said to ...
, and those of
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (, , ; 2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, also spelled as Ghirlandajo, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of ...
and
Filippino Lippi
Filippino Lippi (April 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance.
Biography
Filippino Lippi was born in Prato, Tusc ...
. After his hiatus from 1500 to 1503, he seemed to change vision, taking from Raphael the representation of light and its effects over moving shapes.
Fra Bartolomeo's figures are generally small and draped. These qualities were alleged against him as defects, and to prove that his style was not the result of want of power, he painted the magnificent figure of the ''St Mark Evangelist'' (ranked as his masterpiece), and the undraped figure of
Saint Sebastian
Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Dioclet ...
. It is alleged that the latter was felt to be so strongly expressive of suffering and agony, that it was found necessary to remove it from the place where it had been exhibited in the chapel of a convent.
Fra Bartolomeo's compositions are remarkable for skill in the massing of light and shade, richness and delicacy of colouring, and for the admirable drapery of the figures, Bartolomeo having been the first to introduce and use the lay-figure with joints.
Among his pupils were Cecchino del Frate, Benedetto Ciamfanini, Gabriel Rustici,
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
Ridolfo di Domenico Bigordi, better known as Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (14 February 1483 – 6 June 1561) was an Italian Renaissance painter active mainly in Florence. He was the son of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Biography
He was born in Florence. Since ...
(the son of
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (, , ; 2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, also spelled as Ghirlandajo, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of ...
), and
Fra Paolo Pistolese
Fra Paolino da Pistoia OP (1490 – August 3, 1547) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active in Tuscany. He was a son of the painter Bernardino del Signoraccio. He was a Dominican friar who painted in a style similar to Fr ...
.
[Vasari, ''Vite, Terza Parte''.]
Pieces
*''Assumption of Mary'' (1508) - Oil on canvas, Kaiser – Friedrich – Museum,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
(destroyed in 1945)
*''Madonna in Glory with Saints'' (1512, with Albertinelli) - Oil on canvas,
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
of
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
*''Holy Conversation'' (1512) - Oil on canvas,
*''Christ Supported by Two Angels'' (c. 1514) - Oil on canvas,
Casa Vasari, Arezzo
The Casa Vasari is a building at 55 via XX Settembre in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. It was the family home of the painter, art historian and architect Giorgio Vasari. It houses a number of frescoes and since December 2014 the Italian Ministry of Cult ...
*''St. Sebastian'' (1515) - Oil on canvas, Alaffre Collection,
Pézenas
Pézenas (; Languedocien: ''Pesenàs'') is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France.
Name
The name "Pézenas" is derived from the older name ''Piscenae'', probably from the Latin word ''piscenis'', meaning fi ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
Image:Bartolommeo, Fra ~ Annunciation, 1500, oil tempera on wood, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.jpg, ''Annunciation'' (1500)
Galleria degli 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 ...
, Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
Image:Fra Bartolomeo 007.jpg, '' Scene with Christ in the Temple'' (1516), Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...
, Vienna
Image:Fra Bartolomeo 004.jpg, ''Madonna in Glory with Saints'', Besançon Cathedral
Besançon Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Jean de Besançon) is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint John located in the city of Besançon, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Besançon.
The cathedral consists of a large nave ...
File:Fra bartolomeo, dio padre lucca.jpg, ''God the Father with Sts Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...
and Mary Magdalene'', National Museum of Villa Guinigi
The Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi is the main art museum hosting the pre-modern art collections owned by the city of Lucca, Italy.
The museum is located in a refurbished villa on Via della Quarquonia, completed in 1418 for Paolo Guinigi, rule ...
File:Girolamo Savonarola.jpg, ''Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
''
File:Thomas Aquinas by Fra Bartolommeo.jpg, ''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 wi ...
''
File:Fra bartolomeo, cristo cornato di spine.jpg, ''Christ Crowned with Thorns''
File:Fra bartolomeo, giobbe.jpg, ''Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
''
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
* .
Attribution:
*
External links
*
Biography from Artist-Biography.info*
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints', a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which includes material on Fra Bartolomeo (see index)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartolomeo, Fra
1472 births
1517 deaths
People from Prato
15th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
16th-century Italian painters
Painters from Tuscany
Italian Renaissance painters
Italian Dominicans
Catholic painters