composition and design were cleverly applied in the
many important monumental fresco commissions that
punctuate his career.
1370s–1385: Arezzo and Lucca
It would appear that Spineilo spent his formative years
in Arezzo, and it is likely that he trained under the lo-
cal painter Andrea di Nerio, whose infl uence can be
detected in the austere and powerfully modeled forms
of Spinello’s fresco Virgin and Child with Saints and
a Donor (1377; Arezzo, Museo Diocesano). By the
early 1380s, Spinello had moved to Lucca, where the
measured style of his earlier Aretine phase had evolved
to take greater account of the decorative qualities of
line and color; these developments suggest that he was
responding to the sumptuous aspects of contemporary
Lucchese artistic culture, especially the art of Angelo
Puccinelli. In 1384, it is documented that Spinello had
recently executed an altarpiece for the Olivetan order
in Lucca; today, its principal components are generally
identifi ed as a central Virgin and Child with Angels
(Fogg Collection, Cambridge, Massachusetts), two
fl anking panels of Saint Pontianus and Saint Benedict
(both in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg), and three
predella scenes (Galleria Nazionale, Parma). The pre-
della scenes were designed with a remarkable degree of
spirited narrative detail, and some of the motifs indicate
that Spinello was familiar with the monumental fresco
cycles of the Camposanto in nearby Pisa. Spinello’s
sojourn in Lucca culminated in another commission
from the Olivetan order: a grand polyptych for the high,
altar of Santa Maria Nuova in Rome. Its central panel
(now missing) was signed and dated 1385.
1386–1398: Arezzo, Florence, and Pisa
Spinello is documented in Arezzo in 1386. He was in
Florence the following year, by which point he had
joined the Arte dei Medici e degli Speziali and had re-
ceived payment for two designs of statues intended for
the cathedral facade. In this same period, he was com-
missioned by the Alberti family to work on two great
fresco cycles: scenes from the Life of Saint Benedict (c.
1387–1388) for the sacristy of the Olivetan foundation
of San Miniato al Monte, and episodes from the Life of
Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1390) for the private
chapel of the Alberti, the Oratorio di Santa Caterina in
Antella (outside Florence). Spinello’s powers of nar-
rative composition, which were already evident in the
predella scenes of the Lucchese altarpieces, are fully
developed in both fresco cycles, in which the facial
expressions and individual gestures of the robustly
modeled fi gures have been intelligently selected. In
these years, Spinello’s use of rhythmic line intensifi ed,
as can be seen in his next project, frescoes depicting
scenes from the Lives of Saints Ephysius and Potitus
(1390–1391) in the Camposanto of Pisa. Here, Spinello
emphasizes the calligraphic forms of the undulating
drapery and also exhibits an interest in antique models,
for his great battle scenes rely on reliefs from Roman
sarcophagi for their effects. Following this commission
in Pisa, Spinello returned to Florence, where he prob-
ably completed the cycle in Antella, as well as executing
frescoes of episodes in the Life of Saint John the Baptist
(now destroyed) in the Manetti Chapel in Santa Maria
del Carmine. Spinello is again documented in Arezzo
in 1395–1397.1399–1411: Florence, Siena, and Arezzo
Between 1399 and 1401, Spinello was once again
working in Florence, where he collaborated with Nic-
colò di Pietro Gerini and Lorenzo di Niccolò on the
high altarpiece of Santa Felicita (1401; Accademia,
Florence). Spinello’s austerely designed saints from
the right wing are in marked contrast to his dancing
angels in the central panel, whose furious movements
and fully activated drapery forms are remarkable for
their expressive force. In the following years Spinello
was mostly occupied with commissions in Arezzo, but
by late 1404 he was in Siena to paint frescoes for the
Sant’Ansano Chapel (now destroyed) in the cathedral.
His years in Siena culminated in a commission, on which
his son Parri Spinelli assisted him, to decorate the Sala
di Balia in the Palazzo Pubblico with frescoed scenes
from the Life of Pope Alexander III (1407–1408); these
are remarkable for their engaging anecdotal elements
and expressively characterized human fi gures.
Spinello occupies an important position in the devel-
opment of Tuscan painting. His interest in the principles
of Giotto’s art and his competence in monumental mural
painting were to infl uence Masaccio and others; at the same
time, his lavish effects of color and pattern, decorative
use of line, and freshness of narrative anticipated the late
Gothic style of Lorenzo Monaco and Lorenzo Ghiberti.
See also Giotto di BondoneFurther Reading
Bellosi, Luciano. “Da Spinello Aretino a Lorenzo Monaco.”
Paragone, 187, 1965, pp. 18–43.
Boggi, Flavio. “Painting in Lucca from the Libertà to the Si-
gnoria of Paolo Guinigi: Observations, Proposals, and New
Documents.” Arte Cristiana, 87, March-April 1999, pp.
105–116.
Boskovits, Miklos. Pittura fi orentina alila vigilia del rinasci-
mento, 1370–1400. Florence: Edam, 1975, pp. 141–147,
430–432.
Calderoni Masetti, Anna Rosa. Spinello Aretino giovane. Flor-
ence: Centro Di, 1973.SPINELLO ARETINO