The Master of the Franciscan Crucifixes is the notname given to an Italian painter active in the 1260s and 1270s. The notname is based on a painted crucifix now in the

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi; la, Basilica Sancti Francisci Assisiensis) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in ce ...

, which was found to be connected stylistically with two painted crucifixes in Bologna and fragments of two paintings in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

in Washington, D.C. The artist is presumed to have been

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

n by origin and training.Master of the Franciscan Crucifixes
at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Identification of the artist and his work

In 1922, the Swedish art historian

Osvald Sirén Osvald Sirén (6 April 1879 – 26 June 1966) was a Finnish-born Swedish art historian, whose interests included the art of 18th century Sweden, Renaissance Italy and China. Biography Sirén was born in Helsinki. He held the J.A. Berg Profe ...

coined the name for the painter, presumably

Umbrian Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian lan ...

, by attributing common authorship of a painted crucifix now in the Treasury of the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, two paintings of the same subject in Bologna, and the fragments ''The Mourning Madonna'' and ''The Mourning Saint John'' now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. In 1929,

Evelyn Sandberg-Vavalà Evelyn Sandberg-Vavalà ( Evelyn May Graham Sandberg; 1888 - 8 September 1961), also known by her married name as Evelyn Kendrew, was a British art historian who studied iconography in the Italian Renaissance. She published a book on ''Italian ...

attributed to the same artist the crucifix in the church of Santa Maria in Borgo in Bologna (now at the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna) as well as three painted crucifixes in the Fornari collection at Fabriano,Fornari crucifix now in Camerino in the possession of the Cassa di Risparmio di Macerata. the Pinacoteca of Faenza and the Museo Civico (now Collezioni Comunali d’Arte) in Bologna. Further works have been attributed to the artist but there is no unanimity among art historians about certain attributions.

Life

The anonymous painter probably trained in Assisi around 1255 – 1265, where he was likely influenced by the Master of Santa Chiara and the

Master of Saint Francis The Master of Saint Francis (in Italian ''Maestro di S. Francesco'') was an anonymous Italian painter, perhaps of Pisan origin though probably trained in Umbria, working between 1250–1280. His work embodies an important aspect of the Italo-Byz ...

who painted frescoes in the nave of the lower church of San Francesco. Other influences by local artists have also been postulated. The Master of the Franciscan Crucifixes appears to have worked almost exclusively for Franciscan churches and may have been a Franciscan friar. He was also active in the Marches and

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

area. He finally settled in Bologna, where he is known to have executed painted crucifixes but also a fresco in the church of Santo Stefano. His work likely had an influence on local painters and miniaturists.

References

External links

* 13th-century Italian painters Franciscan Crucifixes Umbrian painters Year of birth unknown {{Italy-painter-stub