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Gregorio di CeccoItalian artist, Sienese school.
Country:
 Italy |
Content:
- Gregorio di Cecco
- Attributions and Stylistic Influences
- Collaborations and Influences
- Personal Life and Legacy
Gregorio di Cecco
Early Life and ApprenticeshipGregorio di Cecco was an Italian painter active in the Sienese school. Little is known about his life. He was the adopted son and pupil of Taddeo di Bartolo, working in his workshop. The only authentic work attributed to him is an altarpiece painted in 1423 for the Francesco Tolomei chapel in the Siena Cathedral, which bears his signature.
Attributions and Stylistic Influences
Other works attributed to Gregorio di Cecco include the "Madonna Enthroned with Angels" (Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna), "The Marriage of Mary" (London, National Gallery), "The Birth of Mary" (Vatican Pinacoteca), "The Crucifixion" (Siena, Cathedral Museum), "St. Louis of Toulouse" (Siena, Pinacoteca), and "The Crucifixion" (Avignon, Musée du Petit Palais). These attributions are based on stylistic similarities to his signed work in Siena.
Collaborations and Influences
The first record of Gregorio di Cecco's name appears in 1389 in the Ruolo dei Pittori Sinesi (list of the Sienese Painters' Guild). In 1415, he received payment for painting a tavoletta for the Biccherna of Siena (work not preserved). He collaborated with his father, Taddeo di Bartolo, on an altarpiece for the Marescoti Chapel in the Church of Sant'Agostino in Siena in 1420. The altarpiece no longer exists, but it is known to have consisted of a statue of the Madonna del Magnificat by the sculptor Giovanni di Turino (preserved) and paintings by Gregorio di Cecco.
Personal Life and Legacy
In Taddeo di Bartolo's will dated October 25, 1421, Gregorio di Cecco is identified as his adopted son and heir to his estate upon his death (Taddeo died in 1422). In 1422, Gregorio served as a consultant on the construction of the Church of San Paolo and its loggia in Siena. On April 11, 1423, he married Jacopa, the daughter of the Sienese sculptor Domenico di Niccolò de Cori (1363-1453), who he worked with in the Tolomei chapel of the Siena Cathedral.
Gregorio di Cecco completed the polyptych for the Tolomei chapel in 1423, which is his only securely attributed work. The central panel depicts the Madonna with the Christ Child and six angels, flanked by saints Augustine, John the Baptist, and apostles Peter and Paul, with the four Evangelists above. The pinnacles feature saints Blaise and Ansanus, and the Archangel Gabriel announcing the birth of Christ to Mary (Turin, private collection).
The Tolomei altarpiece is notable for being the first in Siena to feature the Madonna of Humility in the central panel. The image likely derives from Ambrogio Lorenzetti's "Madonna del Latte" (Archbishop's Seminary, Siena), while the facial types continue the tradition established by Simone Martini, followed by Gregorio's teacher, Taddeo di Bartolo. The three predella panels of the altarpiece are stylistically close to the Tolomei polyptych and are also attributed to Gregorio di Cecco. These panels depict "The Crucifixion" (Siena Cathedral Museum), "The Birth of Mary" (Vatican Museums, Rome), and "The Marriage of Mary" (London, National Gallery).
Despite the similarities to his teacher's works, Gregorio di Cecco's paintings exhibit a more refined and elegant style, as well as a more subtle and refined color palette.
