FUNGAI, Bernardino
Fungai, Bernardino Cristofano di Nicholo d’Antonio di Pietro, Italian painter. Scholars find little documentation of his career. Only in this century has academic attention turned to him. He is recorded in 1482 as Benvenuto di Giovanni’s garzone at work on the monochrome frescoes decorating the drum of the cupola of Siena Cathedral. Most scholars have accepted Benvenuto as Fungai’s teacher but stress the greater influence of Matteo di Giovanni; other proposals have included Giovanni di Paolo and, following the reattribution of paintings traditionally ascribed to Giacomo Pacchiarotti, Pietro Orioli.
Fungai depended heavily on the preceding generation of Sienese painters and was considerably influenced by the contemporary activity of Pietro Perugino, Luca Signorelli and Bernardino Pinturicchio in and around Siena. Although identification of works from his early career is problematic, a sizeable oeuvre has been ascribed on the basis of a signed and dated altarpiece executed for San Niccolò al Carmine depicting the Virgin and Child Enthroned with SS Sebastian, Jerome, Nicholas and Anthony of Padua (1512; Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale). He also painted narrative paintings on cassone panels.
Fungai also may have specialized in handling expensive materials such as gold. In 1494 he was commissioned to decorate ceremonial banners with gold and azure, and five years later he gilded the cathedral’s organ case.
Fungai’s paintings feature docile figures, a decorative sensibility in use of colour and treatment of drapery and landscape, and a strong narrative ability. Regardless of subject matter, landscape was a key element.
