Andrea Del Castagno: Emotional Power and Naturalistic Treatment

Andrea del Castagno - God the Father - 1442 - Fresco, height of figure - 176 cm - San Zaccaria, Venice (click photo for larger image)

Andrea del Castagno (1419-1457) was one of the most influential 15th-century Italian Renaissance painters, best known for the emotional power and naturalistic treatment of figures in his work. Castagno's emotionally expressive realism was strongly influenced by Donatello, and perhaps by Piero della Francesca. Castagno's work in turn influenced succeeding generations of Florentine painters, including Sandro Botticelli.

During the first half of the fifteenth century, Florentine artists including Donatello, Paolo Uccello, and Andrea del Castagno traveled to other cities, bringing with them the new style that had been developed. In fact, Andrea del Castagno's earliest known work is represented by frescoes in Venice. They are rather harsh, direct, and uncompromising images that emphasize the more realistic current that is sometimes found in Donatello's sculpture. The picture shown is the seated God the Father holding a globe.