Andrea del Castagno 1

Andrea del Castagno"Castagna" redirects here. For other meanings, see Castagna (disambiguation).

Fresco of Niccolò da Tolentino (1456).

Andrea del Castagno (or Andrea di Bartolo diBargilla) (c. 1421–1457) was an Italian painter fromFlorence, influenced chiefly by Tommaso Masaccioand Giotto di Bondone. His works include frescoes inSant'Apollonia in Florence and the painted equestrianmonument of Niccolò da Tolentino (1456) in theCathedral in Florence.[1] He in turn influenced theFerrarese school of Cosmè Tura, Francesco del Cossaand Ercole de' Roberti.

Life

Early years

Andrea del Castagno was born at Castagno, a villagenear Monte Falterona, not far from Florence. Duringthe war between Florence and Milan, he lived inCorella, returning to his home after its end. In 1440 hemoved to Florence under the protection of Bernadettode' Medici. Here he painted the portraits of the citizenshanged after the Battle of Anghiari on the facade of thePalazzo del Podestà, gaining the nickname of Andreadegli Impiccati.

Little is known about his formation, though it has beenhypothised that he apprenticed under Fra Filippo Lippi and Paolo Uccello. In 1440-1441 he executed the fresco ofCrucifixion and Saints in the Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova, whose perspective-oriented construction and figuresshows the influence of Masaccio.

In 1442 he was in Venice where he executed frescoes in the San Tarasio Chapel of the church of San Zaccaria. Laterhe also worked in St. Mark's Basilica, leaving a fresco of Death of the Virgin (1442–1443).Back in Florence, he designed a stained window with Deposition for the local Cathedral. On May 30, 1445 hebecame member of the Guild of the Medicians. From the same year is the fresco of Madonna with Child and Santi inthe Contini Bonacossi Collection (Uffizi).

Andrea del Castagno 2

The Last Supper

The Last Supper of Sant'Apollonia.

In 1447 he worked in the refectory ofSant'Apollonia in Florence, painting, inthe lower part, Last Supper fresco,[2]

accompanied by other scenesportraying the Deposition,Resurrection,[3] and Crucifixion, whichare now damaged. He also painted alunette in the cloister, depicting aPietà.

The Last Supper displays delCastagno's talents at his best. Thedetail and naturalism of this fresco portray the ways in which del Castagno departed from earlier artistic styles. It islikely that Leonardo da Vinci was already familiar with this work before he painted his his own Last Supper in amore dramatic form to contrast with the stillness of these works, so that more emotion would be displayed.[4]

Late activityIn 1449-1450 he painted the Assumption with Saints Julian and Miniato for the church of San Miniato fra le Torri(now in Berlin). In the same years he collaborated with Filippo Carducci to a series of Illustrious People for the VillaCarducci at Legnaia. These include Pippo Spano, Farinata degli Uberti, Niccolò Acciaioli, Dante, Petrarca,Boccaccio, the Cumaean Sibyl, Esther and Tomiri.Also from around 1450 is the Crucifixion in London, as well as the David with Goliath's Head and the Portrait of aMan in Washington. Between January 1451 and September 1453 he completed the frescoes with Scenes of Life of theVirgin left unfinished by Domenico Veneziano in the Florentine church of Sant'Egidio (now lost). In October FilippoCarducci commissioned him frescoes for his villa at Soffiano, of which today an Eve and a ruined Madonna withChild survive.In 1455 Andrea del Castagno worked in the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (frescoes with Trinity with SaintsJerome, Paula and Eustochium and St. Julian and the Redeemer, the former showing a stressed realism). Also tothose years is attributed a Crucifixion for St. Apollonia. In 1456 he executed in the Cathedral the famous fresco ofthe Equestrian Statue of Niccolò da Tolentino, paralleling the similar painting by Paolo Uccello portraying JohnHawkwood.Giorgio Vasari, an artist and biographer of the Italian Renaissance, alleged that Castagno murdered DomenicoVeneziano,[5] although this seems rather unlikely - given that Veneziano died in 1461, four years after Castagno diedof the plague.

Andrea del Castagno 3

Selected works• Assumption of the Virgin between San Miniato and St. Julian (1449–1450), Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

References[1] Andrea del Castagno in the "History of Art" (http:/ / www. all-art. org/ early_renaissance/ castagno1. html)[2] Web Gallery of Art - Last Supper (http:/ / www. wga. hu/ html/ a/ andrea/ castagno/ 1_1440s/ 08lasts1. html)[3] Web Gallery of Art - Resurrection (http:/ / www. wga. hu/ html/ a/ andrea/ castagno/ 1_1440s/ 07passi3. html)[4] Leonardo da Vinci, the Last Supper: a Cosmic Drama and an Act of Redemption by Michael Ladwein 2006 pages 27 and 60[5] "Andrea Castagno" (http:/ / www. newadvent. org/ cathen/ 03407d. htm). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

1913. .

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913).Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.

Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and ContributorsAndrea del Castagno  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=431318348  Contributors: Attilios, Biederman, Borgx, CARAVAGGISTI, Canglesea, Concertcarrot, D6, Dahn,Dude4456dude, Eastlaw, EdBever, Etacar11, FeanorStar7, Gene93k, Ghirlandajo, Goodnightmush, Gopats92, Hahnchen, History2007, JASpencer, Jaraalbe, JoJan, Johnbod, KnightRider, Koavf,Kurykh, Lcross2, Luís Felipe Braga, Mattis, Maximus Rex, Mgoodyear, Oscar.Morales, Pethan, Phe, Planetneutral, Prof saxx, QueenCake, Rjwilmsi, RogDel, Rotational, Sailko, Sidhekin,Solipsist, Sparkit, Tail, Thingg, Typ932, Zannah, 27 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsImage:Firenze.Duomo.Tolentino.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Firenze.Duomo.Tolentino.JPG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Emijrp, G.dallorto,Jastrow, JoJan, 1 anonymous editsImage:Andrea del Castagno 001.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Andrea_del_Castagno_001.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: AndreasPraefcke,EDUCA33E, G.dallorto, Mattes, Sailko, XenophonFile:PD-icon.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:PD-icon.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Various. See log. (Original SVG was based on File:PD-icon.png byDuesentrieb, which was based on Image:Red copyright.png by Rfl.)

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