SIGNORELLI, Luca
Biography
Signorelli, Luca, full name Luca d'Egidio di
Ventura de' Signorelli (circa 1445-1523), Italian Renaissance painter,
born in Cortona. One of the great masters of the Umbrian school, he was
associated with the Tuscan painter Piero della Francesca, perhaps as his
pupil, from whom he derived his treatment of perspective. His mastery of
human anatomy was inspired by the work of the Florentine painter Antonio
del Pollaiuolo. The Madonna and Child with Four Saints and an Angel (1484),
a signed altarpiece for a chapel in Perugia Cathedral, reveals his developed
handling of anatomy. His masterpieces are the vast frescoes of scenes in
hell, purgatory, and heaven, done (1499-1504) for the chapel of San Brizio
in Orvieto Cathedral. Inspired by the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri,
they include the intensely dramatic End of the World and the Last Judgment,
with violently contorted bodies. These powerful figures, with their realistic
anatomical detail, influenced Michelangelo and Raphael.
"Signorelli, Luca," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c)
1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
[Search] [Alphabetical
Index] [Artist Index] [Welcome
Page]
Mail your comments by clicking
here
