sible sources for the more forcefully expressive elements
in Traini’s recognized oeuvre. Traini must already have
been established as an independent painter with a cer-
tain reputation c. 1321, for in July and August 1322 it
is recorded that he was paid for having decorated two
important rooms in the Palazzo degli Anziani in Pisa.
His success during the following decade is indicated by
the fact that in December 1337 he committed himself
to taking on an apprentice (by the name of Giovanni)
for a period of three years. Traini is next recorded
in December 1340 and February 1341, when he was
involved in a commission to paint a banner for the
confraternity of the Laudi of the cathedral in Pisa. In
1344 and 1345, Traini received payment for the signed
Saint Dominic Altarpiece, which adorned an altar in the
powerful Dominican church of Santa Caterina in Pisa.
Albizzo delle Statere, a wealthy Pisan citizen who was
active in public life, had allocated funds for its execu-
tion in his will of 1336; the status of this commission
suggests that Traini’s art was held in high regard by his
contemporaries. Traini is not thought to have survived
the Black Death in 1348.Panel Paintings, Frescoes, and Illuminations:
1320s–1340s
The Saint Dominic Altarpiece is considered one of the
greatest achievements of Pisan Trecento panel painting.
It shows a monumental standing fi gure of the saint,
whose solid form is crisply delineated and defi ned by
robust modeling. At each side of the saint are four epi-
sodes from his life, contained within quatrefoils; these
are characterized by a remarkably fresh sense of narra-
tive. For example, in one scene—Saint Dominic Saving
Pilgrims from a Shipwreck—the painter was careful to
evoke a variety of responses ranging from a desperate
struggle for life by those in the water to the gratitude
of the drenched fi gures who have been saved. Profound
insights into psychological nuances and individual char-
acteristics are evident throughout the altarpiece and are
a hallmark of Traini’s style generally, as can be seen in
the Saint Anne with Virgin and Child (1330s; Princeton
University Art Museum) and the Archangel Michael
(c. 1330s; Lucca, Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi).
The Saint Anne with Virgin and Child has a highly in-
novative design: an immobile and matronly Anne with
a wizened face is juxtaposed with a suave, youthful
Virgin who tenderly supports a lithe and nimble infant.
The Archangel Michael depicts a heroic fi gure whose
activated pose and spirited drapery convey a powerful
sense of energy.
There are still differences of opinion regarding the
exact nature of Traini’s activity as a fresco painter in
the Camposanto of Pisa. Since 1974, when Bellosi at-
tributed the Triumph of Death and stylistically similar
frescoes to Bonamico Buffalmacco, some scholars
have held that Traini’s contribution was limited to the
bold designs of the Crucifi xion (1330s). Traini’s career
as an illuminator is less contentious, but it too is a
subject of divergent critical opinions, which concern
the role of collaborators or intervention by a shop. The
quality of Traini’s illuminations is perhaps best seen
in Lucano Spinola of Genoa’s copy of Dante’s Inferno
(c. 1330; Chantilly, Musée Condé), which manifests a
remarkable sensitivity to glance, gesture, and the fall
of drapery.
The legacy of the marked expressive power of Traini’s
art can be discerned in the work of a number of impor-
tant younger painters active in northwestern Tuscany.
These painters include Francesco Neri of Volterra and
Angelo Puccinelli of Lucca, both of whom used Traini’s
robust chiaroscuro, powerful volumes, and eccentric
characterization of fi gures.TRAINI, FRANCESCOFrancesco Traini. The Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas.
© Scala/Art Resource, New York.