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Jacobello del Fiore

Jacobello del Fior (1400-1430s, d. 1439) was a Venetian artist in the early 15th century. He is known for his youthful career steeped in the Late Gothic style popularized by Altichiero and Jacopo Avanzi and his later mature style that returned to a local Venetian style established by the school of Paolo Veneziano. During his lifetime, he received commissions primarily on the Adriatic coast and Venice. He is associated with his contemporaries Niccolò di Pietro and Zanino di Pietro, but is considered to have been more dedicated to local Venetian style.

Early Life and Works

Jacobello is likely to have been born in 1375, since by the time of his marriage in 1394, he was still under the tutelage of his father, Francesco del Fiore. Francesco was a painter himself: in 1376 he is documented in a contract as the chief officer of the confraternity Scuola dei Pittori. Additionally, Francesco headed a workshop that included Jacobello and his two brothers, Nicola, who died in 1404, and Pietro.

While Jacobello's only surviving and confirmed work is dated in 1407, he is thought to be the painter behind a Crucifixion piece in the Matthiesen Collection and the Virgin and Child of Piazzo Giovaneli, both painted in the late 14th century. Art Historian Andrea de Marchi was the first to suggest that a single author was responsible for these neo-giottoesque' paintings inspired by mainland painters Altichiero and Jacopo Avanzi, and coined the author's unknown name as "Master of the Giovaneli Madonna." In the Matthiesen Crucifixion, Christ hangs on his cross in the center of the scene, dividing the followers of Christ on the left with the soldiers on the right. These details reveal that the painting's author must have been familiar with the Late Gothic movement of the mainland and had Venetian training as well, due to the use of figures such as Longinus who lances Christ and the centurion who orders Christ's legs to be broken that parallels Altichiero's Crucifixion in the Oratorio di San Giorgio and the city wall that closes the scene, a technique used by Paolo Veneziano. Similarly, art historian Carlo Volpe noted that a series of small Passion panels painted in the 1390s––Agony in the Garden (Vatican Picture Gallery), Lamentation (Vatican Picture Gallery), Way to Calvary (British Royal Collection), and Arrest of Christ (private collection)––share a Paduan influence and stylistic similarity with that of the Matthiesen Crucifixion. Additionally, De Marchi also attributes The Madonna of Humility in provincial museum in Lecce to the Master of the Giovaneli Madonna. In 1401, Jacobello sent a poliptych, which has since been lost, to the church of San Cassiano in Pesaro, and was seen there by 18th century art historian Luigi Lanzi. The Madonna of Humilty in Lecce, as art historian Illeana Chiappini di Sorio claimed in a 1968 article, may well have belonged to this very poliptych in San Cassiano. Thus, the Madonna of Humilty in Lecce, as hypothesized by art historian Daniele Benati, connects all of the above works by the Master of the Giovaneli Madonna to none other than Jacobello del Fiore.

1401 marks a transition in Jacobello's career from a more archaic, gothic style utilized in the last decade of the Trecento and captured in the Matthiesen Crucifixion to a more modern style that is more concerned with line, such as the Giovaneli Madonna and Crucifixion with Mourners and Saints in a French private collection. The latter, as De Marchi emphasized, still derives from Altichiero and Jacopo Avanzi but moves beyond the sterner style of the Matthiesen Crucifixion and instead employs a looser Gothic flexibility. Both these works were probably painted between 1401 and 1407, the date of Jacobello's first surviving,verified painting.

In 1407 Jacobello painted a triptych of the Virgin of Mercy with Saints James and Anthony Abbot, now residing in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Pesaro but originally for the church of Santa Maria in Montegranaro. This triptych, according to Benati, reveals Jacobello's interest in the latest artistic trends: its technique and style are up to date and the pinched nose of the Virgin point towards an influence of Lombard's Michelino da Besozzo. Similar influences found in Jacobello's triptych of the Adoration of the Magi in Stockholm Nationalmuseum place it chronologically near the Virgin of Mercy triptych.

In 1408 Jacobello is believed to have completed another Crucifixion scene with the aid of wood carver Antonio di Bonvesin for a parish church in Casteldimezzo in Pesaro. The following year he is believed to have painted a tavola for Pesaro, first seen by Lanzi and later hypothetically identified by art critic Keith Christiansen as belonging to the Polyptych of the Blessed Michelina. These two paintings demonstrate his growing professional reputation achieved before his father's death in 1409-1411.

As proof of his prominence, in 1412 the Venetian signory employed Jacobello with an annual salary of one hundred ducats, however this stipend was later reduced to 50 ducats because of Venice's war with Dalmatia

Between 1409 and 1415, Jacobello is believed to have been commissioned to decorate the Sala del Maggio Consiglio in the Doge's Palace in Venice, putting him in direct contact with advanced mainland painters such as Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, and Michelino da Besozzo. The influence of Fabriano and Michelino can be seen in Jacobello's previously mentioned 1409 Polyptych of the Blessed Michelina and in the later Virgin of Mercy between Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Accademia of Venice, likely painted in the mid 1410s. Michelino's influence can be seen in the heavy-limbed infant and areas of raised pastiglia decoration in the Virgin of Mercy and additionally in the 1415 Lion of St Mark (in situ), specifically in the animal's abstract tail and decorative wings. Fabriano's influence can be seen in Jacobello's use of luxurious drapery and decorative sophistication; however, instead of adopting Fabriano's empirical attention to detail of nature and surface structure, Jacobello, as noted by Benati, upholds a stylized, abstract use of line and devotion to metallic appearances, giving his work a heraldic appearance. This conscious decision, as Benati further argues, marks a shift in Jacobello's style that loyally turns back to his early influences of the local Trecento tradition of Lorenzo Veneziano.

Art Historian Daniele Benati, in his 2007 book Jacobello del Fiore: His Oeuvre and a Sumptuous Crucifixion, accounts for a period of nearly fifteen years in Jacobello's youth, from his marriage to his attributed works in the early 1400s, that previously had not been documented. Benati argues in his work that the painter behind Madonna and Child of Palazzo Giovaneli, originally attributed to Francesco del Fiore, is none other than Jacobello. This work, along with the a crucifixion scene in the Matthiesen Gallery reveal Jacobello's early fondness for the neo-Giottoesque style popularized by Altichiero and Jacopo Avanzi. Specifically, the parallel use of Longinus on his horse and the centurion draw directly from Altichiero's Crucifixion of 1384 commissioned by Raimondino Lupi.

Additionally, other works thought to be painted by Jacobello in his early years that echo neo-giottesque style include the Virgin of Humility now in Lecce, provincial museum. The latter of which has been tied to his first known work is an altarpiece for the church of San Cassiano in Pesaro in 1401. This piece, as argued by Benati, serves as the link between a more archaic style as seen in the Matthiesen Crucifixion and the more dedicated approach to line that followed soon after in his Crucifixion with Mourners and Saints, now in a French private collection. Jacobello's youthful style of Late Gothic has been overlooked by many art historians; Art historian Keith Christiansen said, "‘Jacobello del Fiore suffers from a greater critical misunderstanding than any other early Venetian artist. R. Longhi judged him a lesser personality than Niccolò or Zanino because he works seemed deeply linked to Venetian painting rather than the mainland. In fact, Jacobello was the greatest local artist of his generation."

In 1407, Jacobello painted a triptych of the Virgin of Mercy with Sant James and Anthony Abbot, formerly located in the church of Santa Maria in Montegranaro and later donated to Santa Maria delle Grazie. The triptych shows influence from Michelino da Besozzo, specifically in the pinched nose of the Virgin Mary.

Around the same time period he painted an Adoration of the Magi scene now in Stockholm National Museum

Sometime between 1409-1415 Jacobello is believed to have helped decorate the Sala del Maggior Consiglio in the Doge's Palace, along with Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, and Michelino da Besozzo. His 1415 painted heraldic Lion of St Mark showed Michelino's influence.

Later Works and Final Years

The Triptych of Justice

Painted for the Magistrato del Proprio in the Doge's Palace in 1421, The Triptych of Justice established a distinct style that dictated Venetian painting for more than a decade. The center figure represents both justice and Venice, with a scale in one hand and a sword of punishment in the other. The scroll behind her head reads, "I will carry out the admonition of the angels and the holy word: gentle with the pious, harsh with the evil, and haughty with the proud." On the left panel St. Michael battles a dragon and holds a scroll that asks Venice/Justice to "commend the purged souls to the scales of benignity." On the right panel Angel Gabriel declares himself as messenger to Mary and asks Venice to guide men through the darkness. Giambono's St Michael and Michele di Matteo's altarpiece of the Virgin with Saints both pay homage to this triptych.

The Life of St. Lucy and Final Years

Commissioned for the Adriatic coastal town of Fermo, this altarpiece is considered his masterpiece. The work adapts the narrative style of Paolo Veneziano and does not attempt to be naturalistic, marking a decision to return to his local Venetian roots as opposed to moving in the same direction as Gentile and Pisanello. The eight scenes of the altarpiece depict St. Lucy from the visit of St. Agatha's tomb to her burial.

No documented work remains after 1421 and he died in 1439. His adopted son Ercol del Fiore appears in a 1461 record stating his vocation as painter.

Legacy

For a long time Jacobello del Fiore was not given his appropriate due as one of the leading Venetian artists of his time. Keith Christiansen writes in his book on Gentile da Fabriano, “Jacobello del Fiore suffers from a greater critical misunderstanding than any other early Venetian artist. R. Longhi judged him a lesser personality than Niccolò di Pietro or Zanino because his works seemed deeply linked to Venetian painting rather than that of the mainland. In fact, Jacobello was the greatest local artist of his generation." Art historians such as Daniele Benati have clarified Jacobello's role as the link between emerging Late Gothic style of the Lombardy artists and the local Trecento tradition of Venetian painters.