Master of Cesi

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A painter of the Italian Middle Ages who worked in Umbria around 1300 is referred to as Master of Cesi (also Cesi-Meister , It. Maestro di Cesi ) . The artist, who is not known by name, got his emergency name from his panel painting "Maestà", a figure of Mary with a child and saints, which he painted in 1308 for the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cesi near Terni, according to the inscription. Some other works such as B. a triptych from the monastery church of Santa Maria della Stella in Perugia .

style

The master of Cesi stands at the transition from painting according to the strict rules of Byzantine art to the style of the Italian early Renaissance. His style of painting shows newer, more lively representations of characters and actions. The composition and execution of the triptych from Santa Maria della Stella is very similar in composition and execution to a mural in Assisi by Cimabue , the painter who was one of the first Italian masters to begin this transition. The style of predecessors like Simeone and Machilone von Spoleto continues . Pietro Cavallini's influence is sometimes assumed.

Works (selection)

  • Dossal Madonna with child and saints (altar fragment), Cesi, Santa Maria Assunta church,
  • Triptych Christ and Mary , Perugia, from the monastery church of Santa Maria della Stella (today Musée Marmottan , Paris)
  • Painted crucifix , Spoleto , Pinacoteca Comunale di Spoleto

meaning

The works of the master of Cesi are considered important examples of medieval art and iconography in Umbria. The pictures of the master to be found in the regional museums are counted among the attractions of the region.

The woman as the founder

The master of Cesi depicts a single woman as the donor on the dossale in Cesi. Identified by inscription as Donna Elena , this is one of the first depictions of this kind and an art-historical peculiarity. Usually, in medieval art, women are only depicted as subordinate to the family of the founders. The picture of the donor at the master of Cesi shows, as can still be seen 100 years later, using the example of the master of the Cité des Dames , that even single independent women could commission works of art.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Master of Cesi. In: Art Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Art. Oxford 2002, online version 2010.
  2. ↑ Cesi Master. ( Memento of March 7, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Grove Dictionary of Art. Macmillan 2000, excerpt from artnet.com, in the Internet Archive at archiv.org, as of March 7, 2005, viewed May 2, 2011 (English ).
  3. ↑ see e.g. Marilyn Aronberg Lavin: The "Stella Altarpiece". Magnum Opus of the Cesi Master. In: Artibus et Historiae. Vol. 22, No. 44, 2001, ISSN  0391-9064 , pp. 9-22.
  4. ^ Touring club italiano (ed.): Umbria. 6. Edizione. Touring club italiano, Milan 1999, ISBN 88-365-1337-9 , pp. 427, 429, 543 (Italian).
  5. ^ Touring club of Italy (ed.): Italy. A complete guide to 1,000 towns and cities and their landmarks. Touring club of Italy, Milan 1999, ISBN 88-365-1522-3 , S 353 (English).
  6. ↑ Catherine King: Renaissance Women Patrons. Wives and Widows in Italy, c. 1300 - c. 1550. Manchester University Press, Manchester et al. 1988, ISBN 0-7190-5289-0 , p. 139 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Master of Cesi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Maestro di Cesi; Cesi master
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian painter of the Middle Ages
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH after 1308