Nerio di
Ugolino

Italia • I century−I century

Biography and information

It was probably a pupil of Duccio, and certainly one of the most faithful of his followers. The name Ugolino di Nerio several times appears in Sienese documents in 1317 1327 year. From these documents it follows that he was an important figure in the artistic life of the period, and had a very successful workshop. However in the documents there is no mention of his specific works, and this introduces difficulties in the reconstruction of his work. There are several different options in what sequence it should be considered work. The main, proven to work by Ugolino di Nerio is the altarpiece from the Florentine Church of Santa Croce, Dating from the 1325-1330 years (now placed in different museums).

Despite a certain amount of influence of Giotto, of which few at the time could be avoided, the main source of inspiration for Ugolino was the art of the artists, marching in the footsteps of Duccio -- Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti, i.e. artists that are closer to the Byzantine tradition and spirit of French Gothic architecture.

 

The altarpiece from the Florentine Church of Santa Croce, where in the XVIII century Della Valle read the signature Ugolino were executed at several levels, and now parts of it dispersed in different museums. In Berlin-Dahlem, London's National Gallery and new York's Metropolitan Museum of art are now saints and scenes from the passion of it. Brush attributed to Ugolino also: "Polyptych" and "Crucifixion" in the Pinacoteca of Siena, predella depicting "the Crucifixion and two donors" (London, the Courtauld Institute of art), and several "Crucifixions" and polyptych depicting "Madonna and child" and half-figures of saints.