Tommaso da Modena

Tommaso da Modena c.14th-15th cent., Italian painter. He painted 40 panels for a Dominican chapter house (San Nicolo, Treviso) that depicted monks engaged in reading, writing, and prayer. On a commission from Charles IV of Bohemia, Tommaso painted an altarpiece and several accompanying panels for a church in Burg Karlstein.

Tomaso da Modena (b Modena, c.1325; d c.1379). Italian painter, one of the leading artists of his day in northern Italy. His earthy, humane, and naturalistic style is well seen in his series of frescos of famous Dominicans (signed and dated 1352) in the chapter house of S. Niccolò in Treviso. The saintly figures are shown meditating, writing, and reading (the first dated example of spectacles being worn appears here) and Tomaso shows a remarkable ability to depict intellectual activity. His reputation was such that work was commissioned from him by the Emperor Charles IV in Bohemia (see Bohemian School), and two panels by Tomaso are still in Karlstein Castle, near Prague. It is unlikely that he visited Bohemia, but there is some kinship between his work and that of his leading Bohemian contemporary, Master Theoderic.

Tomaso da Modena (c.1325–c.1379). Italian painter, one of the leading artists of his day in northern Italy. His earthy, humane, and naturalistic style is well seen in his series of frescos of famous Dominicans (signed and dated 1352) in the chapter house of S. Niccolò in Treviso. The saintly figures are shown meditating, writing, and reading (the first dated example of spectacles being worn appears here) and Tomaso shows a remarkable ability to depict intellectual activity. His reputation was such that work was commissioned from him by the emperor Charles IV in Bohemia, and two panels by Tomaso are still in Karlstein Castle, near Prague. It is unlikely that he visited Bohemia, but there is some kinship between his work and that of his leading Bohemian contemporary, Master Theoderic.