GIOVANNI DEL BIONDO
by Joan K. Yanni
MAG's Crucifixion with God the Father (51.26) has been cleaned and, pristine and sparkling, is back in the Renaissance Room. It is worth examining again.
Giovanni del Biondo was a Florentine painter active from 1356 to 1392. Documentary evidence says he became a citizen of Florence in 1356. He was one of the most productive of the artists working after the plague, or Black Death, of 1348; among his works are Madonna and Saints in a chapel in Santa Croce, an Annunciation in the Hospital of the Innocents, and a large polyptych now in the Accademia, all in Florence.
Del Biondo's paintings testify that he is a follower of Andrea Orcagna, a leading painter-sculptor in Florence after the middle of the century, Orcagna's brother, Jacopo, and Nardo di Cione. (Our five-panel altarpiece is attributed to the school of Nardo.)
Our MAG handbook tells us that the Crucifixion was probably one of del Biondo's later works, done between 1375 and 1380. It is tempera on panel and presents a late-gothic interpretation of the Crucifixion: the bent, yet rigid body of Christ hangs on the cross, around which are the anguished figures of the Virgin Mary, St. John and Mary Magdalene. The Magdalene, her red hair flowing over her shoulders, tearfully clutches the cross. Against the rich gold background, agitated angels hold out vessels to catch the blood dripping from Christ's wounds. Above the scene, the serene figure of God the Father raises his hand in blessing. The brilliant scarlet, yellow and blue of the paint contrast with, yet add to, the emotion of the painting. The panel can be compared to both the Giottesque fresco The Vision of Zacharias, with its massive figures and spirited emotion, and the Nardo altarpiece.
Tempera painting on panel is a laborious technique which requires patience and skill. First the panel is chosen—poplar was used by the early Italians, oak by the northern painters. Then fine linen is laid on the panel to strengthen it and to serve as a base for a layer of gesso, upon which the actual painting is done. Gesso is an extremely fine-textured, white substance, similar to plaster but bound together by glue. It is applied to the panel in several layers and allowed to dry between applications. When the desired thickness has been built up, sometimes with the addition of more linen, the gesso is allowed to harden thoroughly and is then sanded until it is smooth.
A drawing, often scratched lightly into the gesso, always precedes the painting. If the work is to include gold, gilding is done first. The white gesso is covered by gilder's red clay, which serves as an adhesive for the gold leaf and a base for burnishing. Gold leaf is pure metal beaten into tissue-thin leaves that, if touched, will disintegrate into fine powder. A skillful gilder, however, using a wide, flat, brush like instrument called a gilder's tip, can pick up sheets as large as three inches square. (With time, the layer of gold evanesces, and a reddish tint of clay may show through.) After one or more layers of gold are laid on and permitted to dry, the gold is burnished and tooled. Then it is time to add color.
Egg tempera is composed of powdered pigment, egg yolk and water. These must be in the correct proportion or the paint will either flake off or become gummy. Only a skillful artist knows when the mixture is right. The paint is mixed in very small quantities—spoonfuls at a time—because it tends to thicken and dry quickly. On the panel, it seems to dry instantly. Many coats of thin color must be applied, stroke by stroke in a crisscross pattern, until a uniform flatness is achieved.
The greenish cast so frequently seen in flesh tones is the original base color showing through the superimposed modeling. Tempera flesh tones placed over a pink or cream base appear chalky. When the green is used, the flesh takes on greater liveliness. As the paint grows transparent with age, more of the green shows through. Tempera painting was gradually supplanted by oil after about 1450 in northern Europe and after 1510 in Italy.
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