Orcagna, Andrea

(Andrea del Cione; c. 1308-1368)

   Florentine painter, sculptor, and architect who, along with his brother Nardo del Cione, decorated the Strozzi Chapel at Santa Maria Novella, Florence. Orcagna's contribution consisted of an altarpiece titled the Enthroned Christ with Madonna and Saints (the Strozzi Altarpiece), which he executed in 1354-1357. In 1359, Orcagna executed the massive tabernacle at Orsanmichele,Florence, in marble, mosaic, gold, and lapis lazuli. This elaborate work includes reliefs from the life of the Virgin and a painted panel by Bernardo Daddi of the Enthroned Virgin and Child. From 1358 to 1362, Orcagna is documented in Orvieto supervising the execution of the mosaics on the façade of the cathedral. His last work was the St. Matthew Altarpiece (Florence, Uffizi), commissioned by the Arte di Cambio, the Guild of Money Changers, in 1367 to be placed on one of the supporting pillars in Orsanmichele. Orcagna fell seriously ill while working on the commission and died. The task fell to his brother, Jacopo del Cione, who completed the altarpiece at the end of the 14th century.