Saint Romuald
Location: Philbrook Museum of Art
City: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Artist: Lorenzo Monaco
Contents
Artist Biography
About the Painting
Related Links and Resources
References
Artist Biography
Don Lorenzo di Giovanni (Piero di Giovanni), called Lorenzo Monaco (mid-1370s – ca. 1425-30 Florence)
Not much is known about the early life of the miniaturist and painter called Lorenzo the Monk. The originally named Piero di Giovanni was born around 1370 and is known to be in Florence at an early age, where he lived and worked until ca. 1425. Although how he acquired his knowledge is not entirely clear, he gained skills as a miniaturist and panel painter. Stylistic analysis suggests that Pietro di Giovanni was associated with the workshop of Agnolo Gaddi (active 1369 – 1396) and painted the predella for the Nobili altarpiece of 1387-88. Piero di Giovanni took the name Lorenzo when he entered the Camaldolease Order in the convent of Santa Maria delgi Angeli. By 1402, Don Lorenzo di Giovanni, then a deacon, operated a shop in the parish Santa Bartolo in Corso. It is believed that he resided outside of the convent and was master of a private artist’s workshop that employed both monastic and secular assistants for the production of illustrated choir books, panel pictures and frescoes.
Technical analysis reveals that Lorenzo Monaco’s paintings conform to the construction procedures and recipes described in Cennino Cennini’s Il Libro Dell’Arte. The monk-painter’s work with punches provides an excellent example of Cennini’s “granare a distesto,” a network of minute points that “sparkle like millet grains” against the burnished gold areas. Despite his familiarity with contemporary techniques, Monaco deviated from the norm in several respects. One of which is an unusual combination of pigments that contribute to rich color effects in his altarpieces. Pigments ground to specific consistencies have been observed on The Martyrdom of Pope Caius (Santa Barbara Museum of Art). In addition, fresco paintings from the Monaco workshop demonstrate his lack of familiarity with the buon fresco technique. The physical evidence signifying a day’s work in plaster (giornata) is not coincident with some of his figures—in fact in some cases the giornati interrupt key components of design. Lorenzo the Monk, although underappreciated in the years following his death, is now seen as a transitional figure from the gold-ground aesthetic of the trecento to the “pure painting” of the following century.
About the Painting
Although it has not been securely attributed to Lorenzo Monaco’s hand, this panel depicting the founder of the Camaldolese Order has been linked to a proposed altarpiece group connected to the Benedictine Order’s Camaldolese branch. The proposed predella consists of Saint Benedict at the far left end followed by the Annunciation (Copenhagen Royal Museums), the Nativity (Vatican Pinacoteca), and finally, Saint Romuald at the far right. The pendant of Saint Benedict is comparable in size, decorative motifs, and heightened chiaroscuro effects in the treatment of the figure.
Related Links and Resources
Art and Science, Renaissance Illuminations
National Gallery, Washington Summary of Conservation Department research using Hyperspectral imaging to map pigments and paint binders in Lorenzo Monaco’s Praying Prophet, a miniature illumination in a choir book commissioned by the Camaldolese monks of Santa Maria degli Angeli.
Online Catalogue: The Coronation of the Virgin and the Benedetto Altarpiece
National Gallery, London Catalogue entries for The Coronation of the Virgin and related panels from the Benedetto Altarpiece feature high-resolution, post-restoration images and links to relevant articles in the Technical Bulletin.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David by Lorenzo Monaco
Metropolitan Museum of Art Slideshow of four panels that are considered Lorenzo Monaco’s masterpieces, despite their unknown function and original location. Reproductions include exposed bare panel edges.
Lorenzo Monaco – Cavallini to Veronese: A Guide to the Works of the Major Renaissance Painters
A comprehensive list of works by the artist and related paintings.
References
Ackroyd, Paul, Larry Keith, and Dillian Gordon. “The Restoration of Lorenzo Monaco’s Coronation of the Virgin: Retouching and Display.” National Gallery Technical Bulletin 21 (2000): 43–57
Buccolieri, Giovanni, Alessandro Buccolieri, Susanna Bracci, Federica Carnevale, Franca Falletti, Gianfranco Palam, Roberto Cesareo, and Alfredo Castellano. “Gold Leafs in 14th Century Florentine Painting.” ArchéoSciences, Revue D’archéométrie 33 (2009): 409–415.
Burnstock, Aviva. “The Fading of the Virgin’s Robe in Lorenzo Monaco’s Coronation of the Virgin.” National Gallery Technical Bulletin 12 (1988): 58–65.
Bustin, Mary, and Jane Anne Roberts. Lorenzo Monaco: A Closer Look. London: Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1985.
Cennini, Cennino. The Craftsman’s Handbook. Translated by Daniel V. Thompson. New York: Dover Publications, 1954 reprint of 1933 edition.
Ciatti, Marco, Cecilia Frosinini, and Patrizia Riitano. Lorenzo Monaco, Tecnica e Restauro: l’Incoronazione della Vergine degli Uffizi, l’Annunciazione di Santa Trinita a Firenze. Florence: Edifier, 1998.
Davies, Martin. Catalogue of the Earlier Italian Schools. 2nd ed. National Gallery Catalogues. London: National Gallery Publications, National Gallery, 1986, 305-314.
Eisenberg, Marvin. Lorenzo Monaco. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1989, 128-136, 206.
Gordon, Dillian. “The Altar-Piece by Lorenzo Monaco in the National Gallery, London.” Burlington Magazine 137, no. 1112 (Nov 1995): 723-727.
Johnson, Ben B., and Norman E. Muller. “A Study of Technical Aspects and Stylistic Sources of The Martyrdom of Pope Caius by Lorenzo Monaco.” Archivero 1 (1973): 23–56.
Muller, Norman E. “Examination and Conservation of an Altarpiece Attributed to Lorenzo Monaco.” Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego Annual Report (1972): 23–30.
———. “Three Methods of Modelling the Virgin’s Mantle in Early Italian Painting.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 17, no. 2 (Spring 1978): 10–18.
Ricciardi, Paola, Michelle Facini, and John K. Delaney. “Painting and Illumination in Early Renaissance Florence: The Techniques of Lorenzo Monaco and His Workshop.” In The Renaissance Workshop: The Materials and Techniques of Renaissance Art. London: Antique Collectors’ Club, 2013.
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools XIII-XV Century. Vol. 1. Complete Catalogue of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London: Phaidon Press for the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1966, 89-90.
Skaug, Erling. “Notes on the Punched Decoration in Lorenzo Monaco’s Panel Paintings.” In Lorenzo Monaco: A Bridge from Giotto’s Heritage to the Renaissance, edited by Angelo Tartuferi and Daniela Parenti, 53–58. Florence: Giunti; Firenze Musei, 2006.
Thompson, Daniel V. The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting. New York: Dover, 1956 reprint of 1936 edition.