Uccello, Paolo

(Paolo di Dono; 1397-1475)

   Uccello was the apprentice of Lorenzo Ghiberti, whom he assisted in the execution of the east doors for the Baptistery of Florence (1403-1424). Though he lived a long life, his works are few. He is known to have been active in Venice from 1425 to 1431 where he rendered mosaics on the Basilica of San Marco façade, now lost. The frescoes in the Chapel of the Assumption in the Cathedral of Prato (c. 1435) are attributed to him and depict scenes from the lives of St. Stephen and the Virgin, as well as Virtues. These scenes show a precision of rendering with stiff, repetitive drapery folds, dramatic gestures, and varied facial expressions. His fresco in the Cathedral of Florence depicting Sir John Hawkwood on horseback (1436) is a scene that inspired Andrea del Castagno's Niccolö da Tolentino (1456), also in the cathedral, and Donatello's Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata (c. 1445-1453) in the Piazza del Santo, Padua. The fresco is made to look like a bronze monument, a substitute to the marble memorial Florence was preparing in Hawkwood's honor just as England claimed his body. As Giorgio Vasari informs, Uccello was completely taken with the latest developments in perspective, which he applied to his frescoes in the Chiostro Verde at Santa Maria Novella (c. 1450) and the panels depicting the Battle of San Romano (c. 1430s; London, National Gallery, Paris, Louvre, and Florence, Uffizi). Unfortunately, in the battle scenes, he took the techniques to an extreme, resulting in ornamental rather than dramatic renderings of bloodshed and death. The portrait A Young Lady of Fashion (early 1460s; Boston, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum) is also attributed to Uccello. It shows a profile view that emphasizes wealth through costume and jewels, the customary portrayal at the time of a noblewoman.