Veneziano, Domenico

(Domenico di Bartolomeo da Venezia; c. 1410-1461)

   Venetian painter who settled in Florence in 1439 after requesting from Piero de' Medici help in obtaining a commission from Piero's father, Cosimo. In that year, Domenico Veneziano is documented working on the frescoes from the life of the Virgin in the Church of Sant' Egidio, Florence, unfortunately destroyed, which suggests that his plea to the Medici was successful. According to Giorgio Vasari, Veneziano was murdered by Andrea del Castagno who, jealous of the artist's oil painting abilities, struck him with an iron bar. In the 19th century it was discovered, however, that Castagno died in 1457, four years earlier than Veneziano. Vasari was writing at a time when debates on the merits of colorism versus draughtsmanship were taking place. It is possible that he was metaphorically arguing for the superiority of draughtsmanship, usually associated with the Florentine School of which Castagno formed part, over colorism, characteristic of the Venetian School represented by Veneziano. Very few works by Veneziano have survived. A Virgin and Child and two heads of saints (both c. 1440-1445) in the National Gallery, London, are the extant fragments of a street tabernacle he painted at the Canto de' Carnesecchi, in Florence. The Adoration of the Magi (1440-1443) in the Staatliche Museen, Berlin, is a courtly rendition dependent on the International Style. Veneziano's best-known painting is the St. Lucy Altarpiece of c. 1445-1447 in the Uffizi, Florence, one of the earliest sacra conversazione types. His vivid colorism and interest in perspective are clearly demonstrated by this painting. Veneziano's last known work is the fresco of Sts. John the Baptist and Francis (c. 1455-1460; Florence, Museo dell' Opera di Santa Croce), painted for the Cavalcanti Chapel at Santa Croce, Florence, and removed from the wall in the mid-1560s during renovations.