Cecco di Pietro

Cecco di Pietro worked in the last quarter of the XIV century exclusively in Pisa and in the territories adjacent to Pisa with their towns and churches. There are very few works that have his signature or are attributed to him on stylistic grounds.

The main period of the creative activity of the painter falls on the second half of the XIV century. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. The archives preserved a document of July 13, 1351, reporting that a certain “Cecco Pieri” was associated with an artist from Lucca Paolo di Ladzaro, and worked as an apprentice in his brigade. If we are talking about Cecco di Pietro, the artist could have been born around 1330. In 1371, Cecco di Pietro is mentioned in documents in connection with the renewal of frescoes in Camposanto . There, together with Francesco di Neri da Volterra, he worked on restoring scenes with the story of Job, previously written by Florentine Taddeo Gaddi . Frescoes large funerary palace Camposanto at the time were filled with great masters from different cities in Italy, worked there pizanets Francesco Traini , Florentine artists buonamico buffalmacco , Taddeo Gaddi and Andrea di Bonaiuto da Firenze , Antonio Veneziano Venice, Spinello Aretino in Arezzo and sienets Taddeo di Bartolo . Work in Camposanto largely determined the addition of the creative style of Cecco di Pietro. The first signed works of Cecco are dated to 1374 and 1377, therefore, by that time he had already become an independent artist. In 1380, Cecco is mentioned as the “anziano del popolo” of Pisa, that is, the “people's chief” - one of the administrative posts in medieval Pisa. On August 12, 1385, he received a payment for painting the khorugvi for the Leaning Cathedral of Pisa, and in the following years left his signature on several works. The fresco paintings in the church of San Martino in Pisa, dated by the connoisseur of Pisa painting Enzo Carli in 1395, testify that the master was active in the last decade of the XIV century. In a document dated March 28, 1402, Cecco is already mentioned as deceased.

Great influence on the formation of Cecco di Pietro had Francesco Traini , who rather radically included in his work the achievements of the Siena school of painting . In all likelihood, Cecco was his apprentice and workshop worker. In addition, the researchers see in his work the traces of the influence of Luca di Tomme and Antonio Veneziano. Thus, the creative style of the master was formed, on the one hand, by Late Djott artistic techniques, on the other hand, it was influenced by Gothic tendencies that were spread in Tuscany at the end of the 14th century.

The first of the signed works known today was created by Cecco in 1374 , the so-called “bandinella” - an icon for processions, which he wrote for the Battuti di San Simone fraternity in Pisa (now in the Museum of San Matteo, Pisa). Three years later (1377), for the church of San Ranieri-Cecco, wrote the altar painting “Lamentation of Christ with the Saints” (Pisa, Museum of San Matteo); in the center of the work, instead of the usual Madonna and Child, he depicted “Drink,” that is, the Mother of God with the body of the dead Christ in her arms, and on the sides are six figures of saints. In the 1370-80s, he wrote many images of the Madonna and Child , of rather the same type: the Madonna in them sits on the throne in the same position, only the poses of the baby change; sometimes donators appear at her feet; the most famous among them is “Madonna and Child, holding a goldfinches and a bunch of millet” (c. 1372, Copenhagen , National Museum), she has the artist's signature. The year 1386 dates several subscription works: the Crucifixion and the Eight Saints polyptych ( Pisa , Museum of San Matteo), Madonna and Child ( Portland , Museum of Art, Kress Collection) - probably the central panel of the polyptych, the other four doors with the images of the saints are found today in Avignon , the Museum of Petit Palais (St. Bartholomew, St. Peter, St. Nicholas and John the Baptist). According to the documents, in 1395, Cecco di Pietro painted with frescoes a chapel in the church of St. Martin in Pisa. In March 1402, his son Marco entered into inheritance rights; hence the artist by this time was no longer alive.

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  John the Baptist, detail polyptych, 1386, Avignon, Petit Palais

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  St. Peter, polyptych detail, 1386, Avignon, Petit Palais

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  Madonna and Child, polyptych detail, 1386, Portland, Museum of Art,

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  St. Bartholomew, detail of polyptych, 1386, Avignon, Petit Palais

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  St. Nicholas, polyptych detail, 1386, Avignon, Petit Palais

The most famous easel piece by Cecco di Pietro is the large “Polyptych di Anygno”, which he commissioned by Archbishop Moricotti for the monastery church of San Gerolamo in Anygno (now in the Palazzo Blue, Pisa collection; details are predella in the San Matteo Museum, Pisa and Museum of Fine Arts, Dijon ). The work dates from 1386-95 years. It does not have the signature of the artist, the authorship was established by Italian art historian Enzo Carli. A polyptych has three tiers; on average, the artist depicted Madonna and Child on a throne, on the sides of her St. Nicholas, of sv. Jerome, sv. Benedict, and of sv. Margarita; in the upper tier: the Saints of Mauritius, Catherine of Alexandria, Stephen, Peter, Lawrence, Agnes, and Placido; in the pinnacles - the evangelists Mark, John, Matthew and Luke; Polyptych crowns the image of Christ blessing. A scandalous story is connected with this work. Between 1930 and 1936 it was located in Villa Tobler for the purpose of restoration. In 1937, a copy of the altar, made by the famous restorer and imitator of ancient painting Ichilio Federico Yoni, was installed at the previous place in the church. In 1944, the church fell under bombing and the altar died. Nevertheless, some researchers still claim that the surviving polyptych from the Palazzo Blue is a fake, and the original was lost in the church.

In addition to the above, Cecco di Pietro is attributed to several more works scattered around museums and private collections in different countries: “The funeral of Sts. Bernard "(Paris, Louvre)," St. Jerome in the Cell ”(Museum of the Reilly, North Carolina),“ Madonna and Child ”(Tour, Museum of Fine Arts). Creativity Cecco di Pietro wore a local, local character, and his eclectic style did not have major followers and successors. During his lifetime, he had quite a great success, but the number of his works that have survived to our day is amazingly small.

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  St. Jerome in the cell. Ca. 1370. Reilly, Museum of Sev. Carolina

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  Madonna and Child. OK. 1372. Copenhagen, Museum of Art

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  Polyptych from the Church of San Gerolamo, Agnano (Polyptych from Agnano), 1386-95. Museum of the Palazzo Blue, Pisa

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  Crucifixion Detail of a predella Polyptych from Anygno. Museum of San Matteo, Pisa

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  Assumption of St. Bernard Detail of a predella Polyptych from Anygno. Dijon, Museum of Fine Arts

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  St. Bernard in his studio. Detail of a predella Polyptych from Anygno. Private collection.

1. Four panels from the polyptych from the Museum of Pté Palais, Avignon: “St. Bartholomew "," St. Peter "," St. Nikolai, John the Baptist. The central part of this altar is the Madonna and Child at the Museum of Art, Portland;
2. “Madonna and Child” - Copenhagen, State Museum (has a signature and a fragment of the date);
3. “Madonna and Child” - Florence, Salokki collection;
4. Triptych “Crucifixion with Saints Catherine, Peter, John the Baptist and Lucia / Annunciation” - Florence, De Kosson Collection;
5. Two Saints - “St. Peter "and" John the Theologian "- Florence, private collection;
6. "St. Papa ”- Milan, collection of Foresti;
7. Crucifixion - New York, DuVine Collection;
8. "John the Baptist" and "St. Bartholomew "- New York, Newhouse Gallery (two panels of polyptychs, the central part of which is in the Museum of San Matteo, Pisa);
9. "Funeral of sv. Bernardin "- Louvre, Paris (picture predella);
10. "Christ in the mandible and half figures of saints" - fresco in c. San Martino, Pisa;
11. The Pieta and the Six Saints Polyptych - Pisa, Museum of San Matteo (No. 94; has a signature and date);
12. The Crucifixion and the Eight Saints Polyptych - Pisa, Museum of San Matteo (No. 95; has a signature and date);
13. “Madonna and Child” - Pisa, Museum of San Matteo (No. 96);
14. "Life of sv. Margaritas ”- Pisa, Museum of San Matteo (No. 97);
15. The Six Saints - Pisa, Museum of San Matteo (No. 98);
16. Polyptych "Madonna and Child and Saints" - Pieve di Agnano, Church of San Gerolamo;
17. “Madonna and Child” - Portland, Museum (dated and signed);
18. "St. Jerome in the Cell "- Museum in Raleigh, North. Caroline;
19. “Madonna and Child” - Rome, Sangorgi Gallery;
20. “Madonna and Child” - Tour, Museum of Art;
21. “Madonna and Child” - whereabouts unknown;
22. "St. Dominic "and" St. Francis "- Christie's auction in 1949;
23. "Nativity of the Virgin" - Pisa, Church of San Pietro (signed and dated - 1386);
24. “Madonna and Child with Two Angels” - Pisa, Toscanelli collection (dated 1381);

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