Andrea da Firenze (Italian, 1379)

d. 1379

The first evidence from the life of Andrea Bonaiuti dates to January 1346, when he was registered in Florence in the Arte dei Medici e Speziali, or the guild of doctors and pharmacists. His surviving works on panel include 26 triptychs, polyptychs, fragmentary panels, as well as a crucifix and a processional banner. His two major fresco cycles are in the Chapter House, the so-called Spanish Chapel, of Santa Maria Novella of Florence (c. 1365) and in the Camposanto of Pisa (1376/77-79). The Spanish Chapel frescoes are generally believed to glorify the Dominican Order, although the cycle's specific iconography is contested. His Camposanto frescoes depict scenes from the legend of Saint Raynerius (Raniero), the patron saint of Pisa. This project was unfinished at the time of Andrea's death, shortly after May 16, 1379, and was completed by Barnaba da Modena. Andrea was also engaged in manuscript illumination, as evidenced by the attribution of at least one miniature to him. In addition, the design for the stained-glass rose window of the façade of Santa Maria Novella has been assigned to him. In 1366-67, he served on an advisory board of artists on the construction of the new Duomo in Florence. He is believed to have had a prolific workshop with several assistants. Although Andrea is often considered a minor artist in late-trecento Florence, his significant fresco commissions and his participation in the Duomo project indicate that he was likely a highly respected master. Noted influences on his early manner include Bernardo Daddi, the brothers Andrea and Nardo di Cione, Maso di Banco, and Taddeo Gaddi. The influence of Andrea's mature style on subsequent painters has been cited in the work of a number of artists of the last quarter of the fourteenth century, including Agnolo Gaddi, the Master of the Straus Madonna, Lorenzo Monaco, and Niccolò di Tommaso. 1. Grove 1996, p. 15. 2. See Tripps 1996, pl. XIX, pp. 166-167. 3. See Tripps 1996, pl. IX-IX5, pp. 130-137.