Gherardo Jacopo Di Starnina Paintings

Gherardo Jacopo di Starnina, often simply known as Starnina, was an Italian painter from Florence, active from the late 14th to the early 15th century. His exact birth and death dates are not precisely known, but he is believed to have been born around 1360 and to have died around 1413. Starnina's work bridges the stylistic gap between the late Gothic and early Renaissance periods, and he is noted for his contribution to the International Gothic style.

Starnina likely trained in Florence, and his style suggests that he may have been a pupil or follower of Taddeo Gaddi, the leading Florentine painter of his time and a notable apprentice of Giotto. Starnina's early work was influenced by Gaddi's narrative clarity and Giotto's volumetric figures. However, Starnina's mature style incorporated the elegant lines, rich color palette, and intricate decorative elements characteristic of the International Gothic style, which was spreading throughout Europe at the time.

Around 1390, Starnina traveled to Spain, where he worked on frescoes in the Toledo Cathedral and possibly other commissions in Valencia. His time in Spain was influential in his development as an artist, and he is credited with introducing elements of the Italian Gothic style into Spanish art. After his return to Florence, around the beginning of the 15th century, Starnina's style had evolved, showing greater spatial coherence and a refined approach to figure representation.

Starnina's work includes altarpieces, frescoes, and panel paintings. One of his most significant contributions to Florentine art is the fresco cycle in the Capella degli Alberti in the church of Santa Croce, which depicts scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Unfortunately, many of these works have been severely damaged over time or lost.

While Starnina's body of work is not extensive, his influence on contemporary and later artists was significant. It is believed that Lorenzo Monaco was among his pupils, and through Monaco and others, his style impacted the early Renaissance, most notably the works of Fra Angelico. Though much of Starnina's life and work remain shrouded in mystery, his role in the transition from Gothic to Renaissance art in Florence is nonetheless recognized as being of great importance.