Lorenzo Monaco facts for kids

Adoration of the Magi, around 1420–1422, Uffizi, Florence

Lorenzo Monaco (born around 1370 – died around 1425) was an Italian painter. He lived during the late Gothic period and the start of the Renaissance. His real name was Piero di Giovanni. He was born in Siena, Italy. We don't know much about his early life, except that he learned to paint in Florence. He was inspired by the artist Giotto and Giotto's followers, Spinello Aretino and Agnolo Gaddi.

Life of Lorenzo Monaco

In 1390, Piero di Giovanni joined a monastery called Santa Maria degli Angeli. It was a Camaldolese monastery. After this, people usually called him Lorenzo Monaco. This means 'Lawrence the Monk'.

Around 1404, his paintings started to show new influences. He was inspired by the International Gothic style. He also learned from the early works of Lorenzo Ghiberti and Gherardo Starnina. One painting from this time is the Pietà, which is now in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. His artworks often had a shiny gold background. They usually focused on spiritual ideas and did not show everyday things.

In 1414, Lorenzo painted the famous Coronation of the Virgin. This painting is now at the Uffizi gallery. It is known for having many saints and very bright colors. Later in his life, Lorenzo did not use the new ideas that artists like Masaccio and Brunelleschi were bringing into art. These new ideas were part of the early Renaissance.

You can see this in his painting, Adoration of the Magi, from 1420–1422. In this painting, the new way of showing depth, called geometrical perspective, is completely missing. Even so, Lorenzo's paintings were still very popular in the 1420s. He received many requests for his art. For example, he painted the Stories of the Virgin in the Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel at Santa Trinita. This is one of the few fresco paintings he made.

A famous writer named Giorgio Vasari wrote about Lorenzo Monaco in his book, Lives. Vasari said that Lorenzo died from an illness.

Famous Paintings by Lorenzo Monaco

Here are some of his well-known artworks:

• Coronation of the Virgin (1388–1390), found in the Courtauld Gallery, London
• Madonna and Child with Saints (1395–1402)
• Episodes in the Life of Saint Benedict (around 1407–1409)
• Nativity (1409), a small painting that was likely part of a larger altar piece
• Coronation of the Virgin (1414), also for Santa Maria degli Angeli
• Annunciation Triptych (1410–1415), in the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence
• Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel (1410–1415), at Santa Trinita, Florence
• Adoration of the Magi (1422), in the Uffizi, Florence
• Beheading of St Paul, at the Princeton University Art Museum
• Processional Cross, at the Chicago Art Institute
• Crucifixion of St Peter, at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
• Madonna and Child, at the National Gallery, Washington, D.C.
• Madonna of Humility, at the Treasure Museum of the Basilica of Saint Francis, Assisi
• Virgin and Child, at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh

Images for kids

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  Coronation of the Virgin, around 1388–1390, Courtauld Gallery, London

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  Madonna of Humility, Treasure Museum of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi

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  Virgin and Child with Six Angels, around 1415–1420

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  Madonna, around 1381–1425, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

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  Polyptych of the Madonna Enthroned with Saints, 1410, Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

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  Scene from the Life of St. Benedict, around 1413–1414

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  Nativity, around 1406–1410

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  Nativity, 1414

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  Nativity, before 1424

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  Crucifixion, around 1405–1410

See also

In Spanish: Lorenzo Monaco para niños

• Sienese School