Jacobello del Fiore: A Transitional Painter

Jacobello del Fiore - Madonna and Child - n.d. - Tempera on panel, gold ground - 88 x 62 cm - Private collection (click photo for larger image)Jacobello del Fiore (1370-1439) was a Venetian painter, who broke away from the Byzantine tradition that dominated Venetian art until the end of the 14th century. Rather, he was influenced by the International Gothic style of the early 15th century, that took place between the Proto-Renaissance and Early Renaissance. Most of Jacobello’s works are in Venice. 

Jacobello was known for images of Madonnas, such as the Madonna of Humility featured here. In this work, he has imbued the composition with a sense of softness and tenderness rarely seen in Byzantine iconography. The formal eastern iconography of this subject, depicting the Madonna facing the viewer, holding a stiffly posed and fully clothed child, has been slightly modified by Jacobello. Here, the Madonna, seated on a grassy patch, is slightly turned towards the child with her head inclined to the right. The child, while still fully clothed, reaches out to his mother in a somewhat playful gesture.