Andrea del Castagno | A Painter of Some
Influence
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Pippo Spano
by Andrea del Castagno
1450, fresco transferred to wood, 250 x
154 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
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Italian Renaissance painter Andrea del Castagno
(1423-1457) was well known for the emotional expressionism and
naturalism of his figure style. Castagno's first noteworthy
paintings were executed for the Florentine convent of Sant'
Apollonia. In this fresco
cycle of 1447 Castagno depicted scenes from the Passion of
Christ and the Last Supper, works influenced by
the pictorial illusionism
of Masaccio.
Andrea del Castagno was well-known for his
portrait series of Famous Men and Women
Castagno's work shows his interest in scientific perspective.
Not only was he influenced by Masaccio but also by Domenico
Veneziano in
his use of light colors. He was widely acclaimed, however, for
his series of Famous Men and Women produced for the
Villa Carducci Pandalfini at Legnaia. The Florentine
condottiere Pippo Spano was portrayed by Andrea
del Castagno in 1450 as an idealized heroic military commander
with his relaxed pose, at ease with feet placed wide
apart. In this over-life-size series, Castagno executed figures
with the illusion of body movement and expressive facial
rendering. He heightened the naturalism by presenting the
figures as standing in illusionistic
architectural niches. Castagno's emotional portrayal of the
young David painted on a shield is similarly realistic and
expressive, owing thanks to the influence of Donatello. Giorgio
Vasari praised Castagno for his excellent
draughtsmanship.
The Opera del Duomo commissioned Castagno to execute a
fresco, an equestrian portrait of Niccolò da Tolentino in 1456,
and this was Castagno's final work. Castagno's work was
influential for later generations of Paduan and Florentine
painters.
Brenda Harness, Art Historian
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