Bonaventura Berlinghieri

Bonaventura Berlinghieri

Bonaventura Berlinghieri was an Italian Gothic artist who lived and worked during the 13th century. His artwork dates his active production period from 1228 to 1274.

Berlinghieri was from Lucca and was born into an artistic family. His father, Berlinghiero Berlinghieri, as well as his brothers Barone and Marco, were also artists and were well respected in their hometown. Bonaventura was the most celebrated artist from his family, and pieces from Lucca showed that he worked there for many years, thanks to the fact that he sometimes signed and dated his work, a rarity at this time.

During this time period, Italy bordered the western border of the Byzantine Empire. After the sack of Constantinople, a lot of Byzantine art pieces made their way to Italy. Because of the influx of Byzantine goods and the proximity of the Byzantine Empire, Italian art at this time, including that of Bonaventura Berlinghieri, was influenced by the Byzantine style, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire style. This mostly depicted religious scenes in impersonal ways, adhering strictly to the controlled vision of the church’s theology.

In 1235, Bonaventura Berlinghieri was commissioned to paint “Saint Francis of Assisi” on the predella, the base of the altarpiece, in the Church of San Francesco of Pescia, Italy. This is one of the earliest depictions of Saint Francis, as he was only just canonized in 1228. In 1244, Berlinghieri was commissioned by Lombardo, the Master of Works at the Lucca Cathedral, to decorate the room of the Archdeacon.

The Berlinghieri family trained and worked together in a family workshop, so they are stylistically very similar. They created imposing two-dimensional static figures. Bonaventura Berlinghieri’s works had a distinct chiaroscuro; a contrast between light and shadow as seen in his piece, “Saint Francis of Assisi”. This family greatly influenced Florentine art and the great detail and unique faces were recognized as being quite original.

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