Nardo di Cione
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculptor and architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. He was the brother of the more accomplished Andrea di Cione, called Orcagna, as well as Jacopo di Cione
Jacopo di Cione
Jacopo di Cione was an Italian painter.Born in Florence between 1320 and 1330, he is closely associated with his three older brothers Andrea di Cione di Arcangelo , Nardo di Cione and Matteo di Cione. The di Cione brothers often worked collaboratively...
; they were important members of the Painter’s Guild of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. While Orcagna has been noted as the more accomplished artist, Nardo developed his own unique style, described as “a pronounced lyrical vein, a feeling for poetic values, strong human sympathies and great sensitivity to colour as a means of subtle differentiation and soft modeling.”
The di Cione brothers collaborated on a number of works from their studio together, including the decorations from the Cappella Strozzi in Santa Maria Novella. While Orcagna painted the altarpiece, Nardo executed the frescoes of The Last Judgment, Paradise and Hell.
Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze
The Accademia di Belle Arti is an art academy in Florence, Italy and it is now the operative branch of the still existing Accademia delle Arti del Disegno that was the first academy of drawing in Europe.-History:The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno The Accademia di Belle Arti ("Academy of Fine...
and now in the Uffizi Gallery.
There is also Nardo’s Standing Madonna with Child, executed sometime in the 1350s. This piece has been noted of works created in Florence after the ravages of the bubonic plague of 1348
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, where religious art was commissioned in order to bring spiritual relief to the survivors. This Standing Madonna is very similar to the surviving work of Nardo’s smaller devotional pieces for the home, one of which is housed in the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and John the Evangelist.