Lorenzo Monaco

Key facts

Lived

1370–1425

Movement

• Renaissance

1. 1408Painted "Christus Am Ölberg Und Die Marien Am Grabe" aged 38.
2. 1410Painted "Polyptych of the Madonna Enthroned with Saints" aged 40.
3. 1414Painted "Scene from the Life of St. Benedict" aged 44.
4. 1415Painted "Annunciation Triptych" aged 45.
5. 1420Painted "Virgin and Child with Six Angels" aged 50.
6. 1425Painted "Madonna of Humility" aged 55.

• What is Lorenzo Monaco known for?+

  Lorenzo Monaco was the leading painter in Florence during the first two decades of the fifteenth century. He is known for creating works of poetic beauty and spiritual expressivity.
• What is Lorenzo Monaco's most famous work?+

  Lorenzo Monaco (born Piero di Giovanni, around 1370, died 1423/24) was a leading Florentine painter. He entered the Camaldolese monastery at Santa Maria degli Angeli as a novice in 1390, later taking minor orders under the name Lorenzo. He lived and worked outside the monastery by 1402, while maintaining his monastic status. Monaco's early works include miniatures in choir books from Santa Maria degli Angeli, likely executed between 1395 and 1400. His most famous work is the sumptuous Coronation of the Virgin, created in 1414 for the high altar of Santa Maria degli Angeli (now in the Uffizi). This altarpiece is typical of early Renaissance construction, with the main scene surrounded by smaller paintings set into the frame. The lower edge features a 'predella' depicting the Nativity, while scenes from a saint's life appear above. The frame includes individual saints, and the gables show the Annunciation and Christ in Glory. Monaco's style places him in the transitional period between the late Gothic and early Renaissance.
• What should I know about Lorenzo Monaco's prints?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, born Piero di Giovanni, was an Italian painter of the late Gothic-early Renaissance. Despite his artistic output, he is not particularly known for making prints. Monaco primarily worked in manuscript illumination and panel painting. Monaco trained in Florence. He joined the Camaldolese monastery in 1391, taking the name Lorenzo. His painting synthesised Sienese and Florentine elements; this placed him outside the dominant trends of Florentine art. Monaco's style is characterised by elongated figures, flowing lines, and the use of colour to create decorative effects. Most of Monaco's surviving works are illuminated manuscripts or religious paintings. These include altarpieces and panels for private devotion. He painted the high altarpiece for his monastery, the Camaldolese church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. He received other important commissions, such as paintings for the Bartolini Chapel in Santa Trinita, Florence, around 1420. Because painting was his primary medium, original prints by Monaco are rare, if they exist at all. Collectors interested in his style should focus on reproductions of his paintings and illuminations. These can give an appreciation for his distinctive artistic vision.
• What style or movement did Lorenzo Monaco belong to?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, also known as Piero di Giovanni, was active in Florence between 1388 and 1422. Monaco's artistic style is situated in the transitional period between the late Gothic and early Renaissance periods. His early Florentine work demonstrates an involvement with Giotto's successors, such as Agnolo Gaddi. Monaco's work was also influenced by Sienese painters, most notably Simone Martini, and his tonal sequences suggest the influence of Pietro Lorenzetti. Although these influences became subordinate, Lorenzo Monaco never returned to the planar strictness of the older Sienese school. His style is characterised by rhythmic linear configurations, contours, and a palette often dominated by cool shades of red and blue. Monaco's mastery of a linear art is second only to Botticelli among Florentine painters. He is known to have entered the Camaldolese monastery at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence as a novice in 1390. By 1402, Lorenzo Monaco was living and working outside the monastery.
• What techniques or materials did Lorenzo Monaco use?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, active in Florence during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, worked primarily as a painter and illuminator. For his panel paintings, it is likely he employed tempera, a common medium at the time. Panels were prepared with gesso, a smooth white ground made from plaster and animal glue. Lorenzo Monaco's activities as an illuminator involved manuscript decoration. These illuminated books used techniques such as applying gold leaf and various colours. The colours were made using pigments mixed with binders. While specific details about Lorenzo Monaco's personal studio practice are scarce, the general techniques of the period offer insight. Fresco painting involved applying pigments to wet plaster; wood carving used pine or poplar; sculpture used clay models as the basis for lost-wax casting in bronze, gold, or silver.
• What was Lorenzo Monaco known for?+

  Lorenzo Monaco (born Piero di Giovanni) was a leading Florentine painter during the early 1400s. He was probably born around 1370 in Siena. Monaco became a Camaldolese monk in Florence in 1390, entering the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Monaco's early work shows the influence of Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti, and Agnolo Gaddi. He began as a miniaturist, possibly producing miniatures for choir books at Santa Maria degli Angeli between 1395 and 1400. By 1399, he was also producing panel paintings. By 1402, Monaco was living and working outside the monastery, registering with the Arte dei Medici e Speziali, but he maintained ties to the monastery throughout his life. His known works include the Man of Sorrows with Episodes and Emblems of the Passion and the Madonna of Humility with Four Saints, both dated to 1404. Monaco also painted an altarpiece for the church of San Bartolomeo at Monte Oliveto (inscribed 1410) and the Coronation of the Virgin (1414) for Santa Maria degli Angeli. Monaco's last major project appears to have been the fresco decoration of the Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel in Santa Trinita, Florence. He likely died in 1423 or 1424.
• When did Lorenzo Monaco live and work?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, also known as Piero di Giovanni, was probably born in Siena around 1370. Records place him in Florence from 1388 to 1422. He died in Florence around 1423 or 1424. Monaco was a leading painter in Florence during the early 1400s. In 1390, he became a novice at the Camaldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence. By late 1391, he had taken minor orders and the name Lorenzo. He was elevated to the subdeaconate in 1392 and to the deaconate in 1396. By 1402, Monaco was living and working outside the monastery; in that year, he registered with the Arte dei Medici e Speziali. He maintained ties to Santa Maria degli Angeli throughout his life. Monaco's artistic training is considered exclusively Florentine.
• Where can I see Lorenzo Monaco's work?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, also known as Piero di Giovanni, was a leading Florentine painter. He was active from the 1380s or 1390s until about 1423 or 1424. Several works can be viewed in Florence. The Galleria dell’Accademia holds his *Agony in the Garden*, *Man of Sorrows with Episodes and Emblems of the Passion*, the *Annunciation with Saints Catherine, Anthony Abbot, Proculus, and Francis of Assisi*, and an altarpiece from San Bartolomeo at Monte Oliveto. The Uffizi Gallery has his *Coronation of the Virgin* (1414) and the *Adoration of the Magi*. The Museo della Collegiata in Empoli has his *Madonna of Humility with Four Saints*. His earliest identifiable works may be miniatures in three choir books from Santa Maria degli Angeli (now Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana, cod. cor. 1, 5, 8). He entered the Camaldolese monastery at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence as a novice in 1390, and was living and working outside the monastery by 1402.
• Where was Lorenzo Monaco from?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, also known as Lorenzo degli Angeli, was active in Florence around 1400. He was accepted into the Florentine Guild in 1402. At this time, it seems he left the monastic community, but without relinquishing his religious orders. In 1414, he rented a house belonging to the monastery. He produced a number of miniatures while serving the monastery. Lorenzo pushed further than any other painter in Florence at the time in his stylisation of form and colour. He sometimes departed entirely from plausibility. However, he did more than merely decorative work; he opened up possibilities in the representation of the spiritual and visionary. Two examples of his work are *The Annunciation*, circa 1410-1415, and *Adoration of the Magi*, 1421/22.
• Who did Lorenzo Monaco influence?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, whose given name was Piero di Giovanni, was a leading Florentine painter in the early 1400s. He entered the Camaldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence in 1390, and by 1402, he was living and working outside the monastery. Monaco commanded a large workshop of monastic assistants. Although the names of his direct pupils are not widely known, parallels have been noted between Monaco and the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti. Monaco's influence can be seen in the work of artists who adopted aspects of the International Gothic style, such as the decorative calligraphy of drapery folds and the attenuation of figures. His artistic training was exclusively Florentine. Agnolo Gaddi was a major influence, with pictorial motifs recurring in Monaco's work. The influences of Spinello Aretino and the tradition of Nardo di Cione have been cited as well. Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, a principal practitioner of the art of miniature painting, was also significant to Monaco's artistic formation.
• Who influenced Lorenzo Monaco?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, whose given name was Piero di Giovanni, was active as an artist in Florence from 1388 to 1422. Although some believe he was born in Siena, his artistic training is considered to be exclusively Florentine. Agnolo Gaddi is regarded as a major influence; pictorial motifs from Gaddi appear in Monaco's work. The traditions of Spinello Aretino and Nardo di Cione have been cited as influences, too. Monaco's style shows sympathy with the International Gothic style. This may have been encouraged by Gherardo Starnina's return to Florence from Valencia between 1402 and 1404. Parallels are detectable between Monaco and the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti. From 1390, Monaco was a Camaldolese monk at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. The eminent scriptorium at the monastery, with Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, was also fundamentally significant to his artistic formation. Miniatures in three choir books from Santa Maria degli Angeli (now in Florence's Biblioteca Laurenziana) may be among Monaco's earliest works, likely executed between 1395 and 1400. He likely had close contact with the Master of the Straus Madonna.
• Who was Lorenzo Monaco?+

  Lorenzo Monaco, whose lay name was Piero di Giovanni, was a leading Florentine painter. Active from the 1380s or 1390s, he died around 1423 or 1424. Monaco likely was born around 1370, possibly in Siena. In 1390, he became a novice at the Camaldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. He took minor orders under the name Lorenzo in 1391. By 1402, he lived and worked outside the monastery, registering with the Arte dei Medici e Speziali, but maintained ties to Santa Maria degli Angeli. His early work was influenced by Agnolo Gaddi, as well as Spinello Aretino and the tradition of Nardo di Cione. He also worked as a miniaturist, possibly as early as 1395, producing miniatures for choir books at Santa Maria degli Angeli. By 1399, he was also a panel painter, receiving payment for an altarpiece. His notable works include the Coronation of the Virgin (1414), originally for the high altar of Santa Maria degli Angeli; an altarpiece for San Bartolomeo at Monte Oliveto (1410); and the Adoration of the Magi. His last major project was fresco decoration for the Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel in Santa Trinita, Florence.