ALTICHIERO da Zevio

The Adoration of the Magi is located middle right on the entry wall of the chapel.

Altichiero always gave his figures space, in the sense of room to move, along with this freedom of movement are their characteristic serenity and deliberate quality, which is strongly reminiscent of Giotto’s figural ideal. A good example of this is the Adoration of the Magi, in which one can clearly see how Altichiero has combined the Giottesque character of the figures with the penchant for narrative detail that is more in tune with the taste of his own time. He does this by directing the attention of the viewer to the retinue of people from the Orient, to the humble appearance of the stable, and to the clothing, with its often contemporary, ultrafashionable cut and high-quality materials. Furthermore, in order to denote the specific locality, the painter allows the walls and towers of Bethlehem to rise beyond the mountains.

The Adoration of the Magi is located middle right on the entry wall of the chapel.

Altichiero always gave his figures space, in the sense of room to move, along with this freedom of movement are their characteristic serenity and deliberate quality, which is strongly reminiscent of Giotto’s figural ideal. A good example of this is the Adoration of the Magi, in which one can clearly see how Altichiero has combined the Giottesque character of the figures with the penchant for narrative detail that is more in tune with the taste of his own time. He does this by directing the attention of the viewer to the retinue of people from the Orient, to the humble appearance of the stable, and to the clothing, with its often contemporary, ultrafashionable cut and high-quality materials. Furthermore, in order to denote the specific locality, the painter allows the walls and towers of Bethlehem to rise beyond the mountains.

The Crucifixion scene is located on the altar wall. The grouping and the gestures of the figures are characterized by a particularly high level of sophistication. In the distinct contrast between the serene pose and inward-focused expression of the crucified Christ, on the one hand, and the agitation of the mourning angels on the other, we still feel the influence of the Crucifixion fresco in the Scrovegni Chapel, though the added thieves and crowd gathered below the crosses conform to the archetype of the densely populated paintings of Golgotha that in the meantime had become common in Trecento painting.

The Veronese painter Altichiero studied Giotto’s frescoes in Padua and borrowing from them developed new forms of pictorial architecture. Around 1380, he and Jacopo Avanzo painted a cycle of frescoes in the Chapel of San Giacomo in the Santo (the church of Sant’Antonio) in Padua. The group compositions of his Crucifixion are those of Giotto’s figures, but the architecture is structured so that it seems to recede ever deeper into the background of the picture. Only a stone’s throw from the chapel, the young Titian was to work in the Scuola del Santo in 1511, where he was deeply impressed by Altichiero’s colour scheme and composition.

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The Crucifixion above the altar extends across three of the five bays of the Chapel of San Giacomo, functioning as an enormous altarpiece. Although rich in anecdotal detail and portrait-like renderings, the fresco does not include the crosses of the two thieves who were crucified with Christ, concentrating instead on the central sacrifice. The cross is set in the foreground of a broadly coherent space which extends in greater and greater depth as it moves to either side, culminating in a hilltop castle on the far right and a firmly rendered and believably scaled pedestrian bridge, city gate, walls, and towers on the far left.

As the Scrovegni Chapel, the oratory has a small brick fa�ade.

In this picture Altichiero inserted portraits of the donor family, as well as portraits of Petrarch and his secretary and pupil Lombardo della Seta.

The Cappella di San Giacomo in the transept of the Basilica di Sant’Antonio was built by the Venetian sculptor and architect Andriolo de’Santi in 1372-76, and it was decorated by Altichiero da Zevio and his workshop.

On the west wall above the choir stall, three consecutive scenes depict the Dream of King Ramirez, the Meeting of the Council, and the Battle of Clavijo.

On the entry wall the story of Christ’s childhood is depicted. Following the Annunciation (top) are the Adoration of the Shepherds (middle left), the Adoration of the Magi (middle right), The Flight into Egypt (bottom left) and the Presentation in the Temple (bottom right). The two pictures on the altar wall represents the Coronation of the Virgin (top) and the Crucifixion (bottom).

In this scene, most of those present are wearing traditional garb of the period; moreover, several of these figures are presumed to be portraits of contemporaries. Similarities wwith the portrait of Petrarch in a contemporary codex, the man dressed in dark red behind St George can be identified as Petrarch, while the figure beside him on his left may be his secretary and pupil, Lombardo della Seta.

Six of the seven paintings on the northeast wall (left to the entrance) are devoted to the life and martyrdom of St George, beginning with St George Slays the Dragon in the upper register of the wall. It is characteristic of Altichiero that he did not limit the scene to the figures of the knight slaying the dragon with his lance and the princess; he added a rocky landscape that stretches deep into space at the left of the image and, as a counterpart to this on the right, included a fantastic image of the city of Silene from whose walls the king and his wife, as well as the inhabitants of the city, follow with frightened looks the battle taking place before the city gate.

The first two pictures, dedicated to St Catherine, are in very poor condition; they show the saint appearing before Emperor Maxentius to condemn idolatry and her dispute with the philosophers summoned by the emperor and their conversion. These scenes are followed by the picture of an angel intervening to prevent Catherine’s torture on the wheel and the beheading of the saint. Both scenes have parallels in the St George cycle, here, however, an oriental milieu, seen in the physiognomies, head coverings, and scimitars, is emphasized still more.

This scene is located in the lower register of the northeast wall.

St George was beheaded before the city gates. This scene is vividly depicted in the last fresco of the northeast wall. Soldiers with their upright spears and lances, officers on horses, and several citizens form a compact wall of people around the saint, who kneels on the ground deep in prayer. Above the saint’s lowered head, the executioner raises his sword and is readying himself to deliver the deadly blow.

Here Altichiero shows most interestingly the influence of Giotto in the solidity of his groups of figures posed in large natural spaces. He achieves brilliant results with this technique, softened by Gothic details. In addition to this, the Veronese painter took pains to portray everyday feelings. Notice the way the father takes his son away from the scene of the macabre torture.

The first Lucy scene in the lower register shows the steadfastness of the saint before the judge Paschasius, the second and unsuccessful attempt to have her brought to a brothel with a team of oxen. These scenes are followed by the martyrdom of the saint, and the concluding scene is her burial.

In the scene of The Funeral of St Lucy the backdrop is a lavishly designed sacred building - the church that was erected over the tomb of the saint, according to the Golden Legend. Numerous citizens dressed in contemporary garb are present at the funeral ceremony, and some of their faced have unmistakably portrait-like features. This applies particularly to the figures in the left half of the image, among whom Giovanni de’ Lupi, the brother of Bonifacio, and Giovanni Dondi, the famous doctor who was an intimate friend of Petrarch, are to be recognized.

In the scene of The Funeral of St Lucy the backdrop is a lavishly designed sacred building - the church that was erected over the tomb of the saint, according to the Golden Legend. Numerous citizens dressed in contemporary garb are present at the funeral ceremony, and some of their faced have unmistakably portrait-like features. This applies particularly to the figures in the left half of the image, among whom Giovanni de’ Lupi, the brother of Bonifacio, and Giovanni Dondi, the famous doctor who was an intimate friend of Petrarch, are to be recognized.

Six of the seven paintings on the northeast wall (left to the entrance) are devoted to the life and martyrdom of St George. The picture shows St George Baptizes the King and His Family (top) and St George Liberated by Angels from Torture on the Wheel (bottom).

According to the Golden Legend, the king had a large church erected in honour of the Virgin Mary and St George. The three-aisle basilica shown in cross section in the middle segment of the baptizing scene’s expansive architectural backdrop, with its lofts, galleries, pulpits and all sorts of attached structures, is an allusion to this church.

The St George cycle continues in the lower register of the wall with images depicting the saint being sentenced to various tortures. However, neither the cup of poison given to St George nor torture on the sword-studded wheel is capable of doing the condemned saint any harm. Two angels intervene and the wheel breaks into pieces, causing the commander, the torturers, and the onlookers to shrink back in horror.

On the southwest wall opposite the St George cycle are four scenes depicting the work and martyrdom of St Catherine (in the upper register) and that of St Lucy (in the lower register). The picture shows the scenes St Catherine Liberated by an Angel from the Torture on the Wheel (top) and The Martyrdom of St Lucy (bottom).

The first two pictures, dedicated to St Catherine, are in very poor condition; they show the saint appearing before Emperor Maxentius to condemn idolatry and her dispute with the philosophers summoned by the emperor and their conversion. These scenes are followed by the picture of an angel intervening to prevent Catherine’s torture on the wheel and the beheading of the saint. Both scenes have parallels in the St George cycle, here, however, an oriental milieu, seen in the physiognomies, head coverings, and scimitars, is emphasized still more.

The first Lucy scene in the lower register shows the steadfastness of the saint before the judge Paschasius, the second and unsuccessful attempt to have her brought to a brothel with a team of oxen. These scenes are followed by the martyrdom of the saint, and the concluding scene is her burial. In the martyrdom scene she survives torture by flame and boiling oil, unscathed, and is then stabbed to death.

The first document relating to Altichiero’s frescoes in the Santo in Padua is dated 12 February 1372, when the Venetian sculptor and architect Andriolo de’ Santi was contracted to build the chapel of San Giacomo (now San Felice).

The blind arcade of the south wall echoes the five Gothic arches through which the chapel is entered: the three central bays of this south wall are painted with a continuous scene of the Crucifixion. The arch to each side contains a marble tomb: that on the left has a Pietà painted above it and that on the right a Risen Christ with Two Angels. The spandrels at each end of the arcaded wall have an Annunciation, but all the other spandrels in the chapel are painted with roundels with half-length saints. On the west wall above the stalls is a fresco showing the donors Bonifacio Lupi di Soragno and his wife Caterina dei Franceschi presented by their patron saints to the Virgin and Child enthroned. The scenes painted above the stalls on the east wall and all the lunettes into the vault illustrate the Legend of St James, to whom the chapel was dedicated.

Throughout the cycle, figures are conceived on a monumental scale and endowed with a narrative force and gravity of expression akin to Giotto. The convincing integration of figures and setting is remarkable. The treatment of architecture and its use in organizing compositions and describing space show an accomplishment not seen in earlier Italian painting. Buildings not only place the drama and set the scale but suggest space in several remarkable ways. Altichiero’s naturalism is also apparent in portraiture: likenesses of contemporary figures including Petrarch, King Louis I of Hungary and the donors have been identified in the Council of King Ramiro, alluding to the cultural and political affiliations of the da Carrara, Lords of Padua.

The frescoes in the Cappella di San Giacomo (Chapel of St James) were commissioned by Bonifacio Lupi di Soragno and his wife, Caterina dei Franceschi. The architecture, designed by the Venetian sculptor and architect Andriolo de’ Santi was commissioned in 1372. This chapel was begun in 1372 in a privileged location inside the Basilica del Santo opposite the Cappella di Sant’Antonio (Chapel of St Anthony) and was completed, along with its painted decoration, in 1379.

The painting school of Padua can be ranked as the most vigorous of the northern Italian schools: the painters of Padua built upon Giotto’s achievements. The prolific Paduan fresco painters added striking naturalistic observations of their own in landscape, in the painting of animals, and in portraiture. The most successful painters of the period came to Padua from outside - Jacopo Avanzi from Bologna and Altichiero da Zevio from Verona. In the Chapel of St James, to Avanzi have been attributed most of the lunettes of the Life of St James, painted about 1374, while to Altichiero has been assigned the huge Crucifixion and some of the other lunettes.

The two pictures on the altar wall represents the Coronation of the Virgin (top) and the Crucifixion (bottom).

This view shows the altar wall of the chapel with the Coronation of the Virgin (top) and the Crucifixion (bottom) as well as the northeast wall with scenes from the Life of St George. Part of the barrel vault, on which the frescoes suffered considerably during the centuries, is also can be seen.

The picture shows a view of the chapel from the entrance.

This view shows the altar wall of the chapel with the Coronation of the Virgin (top) and the Crucifixion (bottom) as well as the southwest wall with scenes from the legends of Sts Catherine and Lucy.

Before his stay in Padua, the Veronese painter Altichiero painted frescoes in Verona, including the votive fresco of the Cavalli family in Sant’Anastasia.

Partially ruined by the insertion of a canopied tomb in about 1390, the fresco is the collective votive offering of the Cavalli family from Verona. The men of the family, in armor, are before the Virgin. The family’s patron saints accompany the faithful and their nonchalant movements contrast wonderfully with the stiff votive posture of the kneeling knights. The setting is also splendid, showing an imaginary fourteenth-century palace complete with galleries and pavilions.