Altichiero

Altichiero da Verona, also called Aldighieri da Zevio (circa 1330–c.1390) was an Italian painter of the Gothic style. A follower of Giotto, Altichiero is credited with founding the Veronese school, although the only surviving example of his work in that town is a fresco in Sta. Anastasia. Most of his surviving work is in Padua, where he had a hand in fresco cycles in the Basilica of St. Anthony and in the Oratory of St. George.
Altichiero's gravity and the solidity of his figures clearly reveal his debt to Giotto's frescos in the Arena Chapel of Padua. But his pageant-like scenes with their elaborate architectural views express the taste of the late 14th century for Gothic intricacy, while his naturalism in the study of plants and animals formed the point of departure for a new style which is reflected in Pisanello. Around 1380, he and Jacopo Avanzo painted a cycle of frescoes in the Chapel of San Giacomo in Padua. 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.
		"Crucifixion" (circa 1376) Fresco. Basilica del Santo, Cappella di San Felice, Padua, Italy.
		"Adoration" Fresco. San Giorgio, Padua, Italy.
		"The Beheading of Saint George" (1385) Fresco.
		"Portrait of Francesco Petrarca" (circa 1370-1380 ).
Text source: 'Webmuseum' (www.ibiblio.org/wm) and others.
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