Lorenzo di Bicci

Lorenzo di Bicci (c. 1350 – 1427) was an Italian painter of the Florentine School considered to be one of the most important painters in Florence during the second half of the 14th century. He is believed to have learned his trade from his father, about whom little is known. Lorenzo’s style, as well as that of his contemporaries Jacopo di Cione and Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, was influenced by the artist Andrea di Cione. Lorenzo's paintings made use of bright colors and his compositions avoided complexity. The figures he painted tended to have round faces and were often expressionless. Another one of Lorenzo's distinctive characteristics was his precision of execution. He was known for exceptional talent in drawing, an ability that he put to use at the initial stages of his painting. Unlike many celebrated Florentine artists of this period, Lorenzo mostly received commissions from the country clergy and from the lower-middle class Florentine guilds. His successors, Bicci di Lorenzo and Neri di Bicci, continued to serve these groups.

Lorenzo di Bicci was born in Florence around 1350. He is thought to have been taught the art of painting by his father, who most likely went by the nickname Jacopo, although his full name is currently unknown. By 1370, Lorenzo had become a member of the Guild of Saint Luke, the painters’ guild of Florence. The guild was named in honor of Luke the Evangelist, the patron saint of artists, whom John of Damascus had recognized as having painted the Virgin Mary's portrait. The Guild of Saint Luke brought together artists from a range of disciplines in Renaissance Florence. Lorenzo's earliest work suggests the influence of a master whose identity is unknown but who was believed to be a member of the Guild of Saint Luke.

Lorenzo's first public work was a panel depicting St. Martin Enthroned, painted for the Arte dei Vinattieri, the wine-merchants’ guild of Florence. The painting was mounted in the Florentine church of Orsanmichele on a pilaster assigned to the guild on October 4, 1380, and is now in the Depositi Galleria d'Arte in Florence. The predella depicts the episode of St. Martin dividing his cloak with the beggar. It was about this time that Lorenzo began working with the painters Agnolo Gaddi, Corso di Jacopo, and Jacopo di Luca, and the goldsmiths Piero del Miglior and Niccolo del Lucia. As a group they were commissioned to value the statues of Faith and Hope by Giacomo di Pero created for the spandrels of the Loggia della Signoria in Florence. Lorenzo was commissioned to apply the blue enamelled ground and to gild the statues, work that provided him a steady income.

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