Gentile da Fabriano

Gentile da Fabriano , c.1370-1427, Italian painter, one of the outstanding exponents of the elegant international Gothic style. In 1409 he worked in the Doge's Palace, Venice, painting historical frescoes that subsequently perished. In 1422 he was in Florence where he created his most celebrated painting, the resplendent Strozzi altarpiece (Uffizi). Gentile painted in the spirit and the manner of the older school, with glowing color and lavish use of gilt, thereby achieving a jewellike, courtly style. By 1425 he had responded to the new Florentine realism. His refined forms yielded to a sturdier rendering of figures in the Quaratesi altarpiece (panels are now in the Uffizi; Vatican; National Gall., London; and National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.). From 1425 until his death he worked in Siena, Orvieto, and Rome. Gentile died in Rome before the completion of the frescoes of St. John the Baptist in the Lateran Basilica. Other examples of his art are the Madonna and Child with Angels (Perugia); a polyptych (Brera, Milan); Madonna of Humility (Pisa); and Madonna and Child (Yale Univ.).

Bibliography: See K. Christiansen, Gentile da Fabriano (1982).

Gentile da Fabriano (b Fabriano, ?c.1385; d Rome, 1427). Italian painter, named after his birthplace in the Marches. His birthdate has been traditionally estimated as c.1370, but expert opinion now inclines to put it about fifteen years later. Gentile carried out important commissions in several major Italian art centres and was recognized as one of the foremost artists of his day, but most of the work on which his great contemporary reputation was based has been destroyed. It included frescos in the Doges' Palace in Venice (1408) and for St John Lateran in Rome (1427). In between he worked in Florence, Siena, and Orvieto. His major surviving work is the celebrated altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi (1423, Uffizi, Florence), painted for the church of S. Trinità in Florence, which places him alongside Ghiberti as one of the greatest exponents of the International Gothic style in Italy. It is remarkable not only for its exquisite decorative beauty but also for the naturalistic treatment of light in the predella, where there is a night scene with three different light sources. Gentile had widespread influence (much more so initially than his great contemporary Masaccio), notably on Jacopo Bellini, who probably worked with him in Florence, Pisanello, who completed work in Rome he left unfinished at his death, and Fra Angelico, who was his greatest heir.

Gentile da Fabriano (d. 1427). Italian painter, named after his birthplace, Fabriano in the Marches. His birthdate has been traditionally estimated as c.1370, but expert opinion now inclines to put it about fifteen years later. Gentile carried out important commissions in several major Italian art centres and was recognized as one of the foremost artists of his day, but most of the work on which his great contemporary reputation was based has been destroyed. It included frescos in the Doges' Palace in Venice (1408) and for St John Lateran in Rome (1427). In between he worked in Florence, Siena, and Orvieto. His major surviving work is the celebrated altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi (1423, Uffizi, Florence), painted for the church of S. Trinità in Florence, which places him alongside Ghiberti as one of the greatest exponents of the International Gothic style in Italy. It is remarkable not only for its exquisite decorative beauty but also for the naturalistic treatment of light in the predella, where there is a night scene with three different light sources. Gentile had widespread influence (much more so initially than his great contemporary Masaccio), notably on Jacopo Bellini, who probably worked with him in Florence, Pisanello, who completed work in Rome he left unfinished at his death, and Fra Angelico, who was his greatest heir.