Coppo di Marcovaldo

(c. 1225-1274)

   Florentine artist who painted in the Maniera Greca tradition. Coppo di Marcovaldo fought in the Guelf Florentine army during the Monteaperti Battle of 1260. He was captured and taken prisoner by the Sienese and, after his release, he settled permanently in Siena. Scholars attribute the emotional content of his works to his war experiences, though the spread of Franciscan doctrines in the 13th century also may have played a part in this. Undeniable is his role as one of the founders of the Sienese School. The Monteaperti Battle was won by the Sienese Ghibellines and to give thanks to the Virgin for their victory, they commissioned Coppo to paint the main altarpiece for their Church of Santa Maria dei Servi, the Madonna del Bordone, a work signed and dated 1261. Also signed and dated is Coppo's Crucifixion in the Cathedral of Pistoia (1274). Two other panels are attributable to him based on their stylistic similarities to the above works. One is the Crucifixion in the Pinacoteca in San Giminiano and the other the Madonna and Child at San Martino ai Servi in Orvieto. The mosaics on the vault of the Baptistery of Florence have been attributed by some scholars to Coppo as well, though others believe them to have been executed by Venetian masters who were more adept at working in the mosaic medium.