Paolo Uccello - Italian Artist From Art History

Historical Artist - Paolo Uccello (1397 - 1475)

Paolo Uccello was born as Paolo di Dono and was given his nickname because his love of painting birds. Paolo Uccello was an Italian painter who was notable for his pioneering work on visual perspective in art. He was apprenticed to Ghiberti at the age of ten, and accompanied his mentor while he worked on the doors of the Florentine Baptistry. In his late twenties, Paolo Uccello began receiving many commissions, including the first equestrian painting of the Renaissance, a portrait of Sir John Hawkswood for the Florence Cathedral.

Paolo Uccello was asked to paint a number of distempered scenes of animals for the house of the Medici. His depiction of a fierce lion fighting with a venom-spouting snake was especially appreciated by Vasari. Uccello loved to paint animals and he kept a large number of pictures of all kinds of animals, especially birds, at home.

By 1424 Paolo Uccello was earning his own living as a painter. His scenes from the Deluge, the story of Noah's Ark, Noah's sacrifice and Noah's drunkenness brought him great fame in Florence. Around this time Paolo Uccello was taught geometry by Manetti.

Uccello remained in Florence for most of the rest of his life, executing works for various churches and patrons, most notably the Duomo. Paolo Uccello's best known works are the three paintings representing the battle of San Romano.He worked in the Late Gothic tradition, and emphasized colour and pageantry rather than the Classical realism. Paolo Uccello's style is best described as idiosyncratic, and he left no school of followers but had some influence on twentieth century art and literary criticism.

Contemporary Italian Artists
Art Galleries in Italy