Gentile da Fabriano worked in the late 14th and early 15th century. His artworks marked the gradual shift between the International Gothic Style and the Italian Renaissance. Despite his name being relatively unknown today, Gentile da Fabriano represented an important stage in both Italian and European art.
10. We Know Almost Nothing of Gentile da Fabriano’s Early Years
As his recorded name tells us, Gentile da Fabriano was born in the central Italian city of Fabriano. The scarce information about his childhood suggests he grew up as an orphan. Soon after his birth in 1370, the boy’s mother died, and his father, Niccolò di Giovanni Massi, joined a monastery. Niccolo died there in 1385, and we have no record of who raised the child.
In the 14th century, one of the few available career paths for artistically inclined boys was to become an apprentice to an established craftsman. There is no evidence that the young Gentile went through such a process, yet some art historians believe he may have trained in Venice. This version originated from the style of his early works. For instance, his famous Madonna and Child, most likely painted in Fabriano’s twenties, showed a clear influence of the late Gothic style that was fashionable in Venice at the time.
9. He Lived Through a Critical Period in the History of Art
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Sign up to our Free Weekly NewsletterGentile da Fabriano’s life coincided with an important shift in Italian art. During the later half of the 14th century, the so-called International Gothic style spread to Italy from France and became particularly prominent in the north of the region. The famous Doge’s Palace, for instance, is a striking example of Venetian Gothic architecture. The International Gothic style can be recognized by rich colors, slender, elongated figures, and elegant flowing lines. During that period, artists started to pay extra attention to proportion and perspective, manipulating them to create convincing illusions of reality. Forms and figures also became increasingly realistic and relatable.
However, during the 15th century, the trend shifted back to the standards of Antiquity. The Gothic was gradually replaced by Classicism as Renaissance artists and historians rediscovered the artistic legacy of the ancient world and learned to appreciate it. These principles of ancient art were revived and readopted in the Renaissance era, and they were greatly influenced by mathematics, empiricism, and geometrical perspective. Renaissance scholars believed that ancient art reflected the values of perfect harmony, symmetry, and simplicity. Inspired by their studies, painters (many of whom were also historians and art theorists) began to use these concepts as the foundation of their work, resulting in some of the great masterpieces of the Renaissance.
8. He Mostly Created Religious Art
In Gentile da Fabriano’s time, the overwhelming majority of art was centered around Biblical or Christian ideas. His father, who took monastic vows early in his son’s life, may have had a profound impact on the young Gentile. Still, it is more likely to have been the overwhelmingly powerful influence of the church that generated this religious zeal. The Church was Italy’s wealthiest institution, which presented a monopsonistic force that manipulated the art market. The clergy had the funds to commission artworks from the most famous and talented artists and to set precise and detailed rules for their execution. It also had the power, resources, and reputation required to safeguard them for centuries after.
The Virgin Mary was and remains one of the most venerated figures from the Bible, yet her cult was particularly prominent in Italy around Fabriano’s time. The Virgin Mary’s importance in Italian faith and culture meant that representations of her were ubiquitous both inside and outside of churches, and Gentile da Fabriano’s oeuvre consists of numerous depictions of the Madonna and child.
7. His Works Reflected the Emergence of Secular Art
One of the defining aspects of the Renaissance was the growth of Humanism, a philosophy that emphasized the freedom and importance of individual human beings and the significance of their contribution to progression. The rise of Humanist philosophy paralleled the great developments of science and art. This intellectual expansion found its way into paintings, leading to the emergence of secular artwork. Several of Gentile da Fabriano’s pieces reflect this trend by depicting allegories of Music, Astronomy, Philosophy, and Grammar. Such allegorical paintings usually involved humanized depictions of disciplines and the way they were taught to Fabriano’s contemporaries.
6. Venice’s Most Prestigious Patron Commissioned One of His Works
Unfortunately, one of Gentile da Fabriano’s most renowned paintings did not survive. In 1408, the Venetian Doge Michele Steno commissioned Fabriano a large fresco that would adorn the walls of the Doge’s Palace in Venice. Home to the city’s ruler, the Palace was lavishly decorated with work by Italy’s greatest artists. Later, da Fabriano’s work would be accompanied by paintings of Veronese, Titian, and Tintoretto. His fresco depicted an epic naval battle between Venice and the Holy Roman Empire, set many centuries earlier during their years of conflict. Despite working on the painting for over a year, da Fabriano essentially abandoned the commission, which was later finished by Pisanello.
5. Fabriano Traveled a Lot
From 1414 to 1430, Gentile da Fabriano was almost constantly on the move across Italy, traveling from city to city, creating commissions for churches and private residencies. Today, his paintings can be found in Perugia, Brescia, Florence, Siena, Orvieto, and Rome, where he painted at the personal request of the Pope. Pope Martin V recruited da Fabriano to decorate the nave of the magnificent Archbasilica of St John in Lateran with his frescoes. With his work visible in public buildings across Italy, the name of Gentile da Fabriano spread further, winning him more fame and more commissions.
4. “Adoration Of The Magi” was Fabriano’s Greatest Masterpiece
The greatest masterpiece produced by Gentile da Fabriano during his period of travel was the Adoration of the Magi, which remains today in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The painting’s commissioner was the city’s richest man and patron of the arts, Palla Strozzi, known for his participation in political intrigues. Fabriano received the commission in 1420 and completed it in three years. The main images of the triptych showed the story of the three Magi arriving in Bethlehem to visit the newborn Christ. Above and below it, there were several smaller scenes related to the narrative.
With funding from Florence’s wealthiest resident, da Fabriano produced a work of exquisite luxury. The ornate golden frame was not just gilded but decorated with real jewels. The figures are lavishly dressed in rich clothes, which, however, correspond more to Fabriano’s era than to that of infant Jesus. Leopards, lions, and monkeys in the background create an exotic, almost fairytale setting. Stylistically, the work is considered a masterpiece of Gothic art but also represents the beginning of the end of the genre. Here, Gentile da Fabriano started to incorporate elements and techniques from the Florentine and Sienese schools that would take over during the Renaissance.
3. Even The Smallest of His Works Were Considered Masterpieces
One of Gentile da Fabriano’s most renowned masterpieces is a small fragment of another work. Three small panels of the Adoration of the Magi tell stories from Christ’s childhood, including the Nativity, the Flight into Egypt, and the Presentation at the Temple. At only 12 inches high, each one displays Gentile da Fabriano’s intricate attention to detail.
The most famous fragment is the central panel showing the Virgin Mary and young Jesus resting during their journey to Egypt. Although the image seems rather traditional to us today, in Fabriano’s time, it was a rare and innovative example of representing a vast, stretching landscape. The main figures are set against a background of rolling hills and extending fields, with walled cities situated on either side. The artist carefully manipulated shadow and perspective to create a convincing illusion of depth, even in the smallest fragment of the entire Adoration.
2. Fabriano Was A Renowned and Commercially Successful Entrepreneur
Fabriano received commissions from the wealthiest commissioners all across Italy, so his artistic skill paid off with recognition and wealth. Florentine banker Palla Strozzi had paid the painter 300 florins for the Adoration of the Magi, which was roughly six times the annual salary of a skilled worker. The remaining documents from the master’s studio show that he left behind a substantial legacy.
Fabriano belonged to the Italian artistic elites. Like many famous and successful artists, he established his own workshop, which trained a number of promising young artists. Some of them, like Jacopo Bellini, would go on to become important painters as well. Bellini was the father of Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, and one of the founders of Renaissance painting as we know it. The influence of his teacher, Fabriano, left a lasting mark on the development of 15th-century art.
1. Works By Gentile da Fabriano Are Still Extremely Valuable
Giorgio Vasari, the forerunner of the discipline of art history and the famous Renaissance biographer, praised Fabriano in his Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors & Architects. Although Vasari’s account of biographies was rarely accurate, the mere fact of mentioning someone automatically added this person to the art historical canon. Fabriano’s works marked the beginning of the transition away from the International Gothic style towards the classical values that came to define the Renaissance era.
Most of Gentile da Fabriano’s works still remain in their designated churches or in museums. Occasionally, however, his pieces make it to the art market and inevitably provoke great interest. In 2009, Sotheby’s sold a set of six newly rediscovered apostle paintings by Fabriano. The painting of St John reached $458,500, St Matthew $542,500, and St Jude Thaddeus $485,500. The immense value of these paintings reflects the importance and skill of their maker.
Originally published: February 23, 2020. Last update: January 13, 2025, by Anastasiia Kirpalov
