Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


    • Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, ca. 1408–10
    Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni) (Italian, Florentine, documented 1391–1423/24)
    Tempera on wood, gold ground

    overall 26 x 16 7/8 in. (66.0 x 42.9 cm); 25 7/8 x 17 3/8 in. (65.7 x 44.1 cm); 24 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (62.2 x 44.5 cm); 22 3/8 x 17 in. (56.8 x 43.2 cm), respectively
    Gwynne Andrews and Marquand Funds, and Gift of Mrs. Ralph J. Hines, by exchange, 1965 (65.14.1–.4)

    Lorenzo Monaco was the outstanding painter in Florence during the first quarter of the fifteenth century—before the appearance of Masaccio, Masolino, and Fra Angelico—and the undisputed master of the so-called International Gothic Style. These four pictures of Old Testament patriarchs rank among Lorenzo's masterpieces. While the brilliant coloring and refined treatment of details recall his work as a miniaturist, the solid treatment of forms relates them to contemporary Florentine sculpture—especially that of Ghiberti and Nanni di Banco. A fifth, somewhat damaged panel showing Saint Peter (private collection) seems to have belonged to the series, the arrangement and function of which remain conjectural (were they for a secular setting, such as the courtroom of the Mercanzia?).

    Related


    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • De Montebello, Guy-Philippe. "Four Prophets by Lorenzo Monaco." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 25, no. 4 (December, 1966).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • "Ninety-Fifth Annual Report of the Trustees, for the Fiscal Year 1964–1965." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 24, no. 2 (October, 1965).
    JSTOR | PDFs
    • "Donors and Lenders" PDF
    • "Exhibitions" PDF
    • "Report of the Treasurer for the Year Ended June 30, 1965" PDF
    • "Reports of the Departments" PDF
    • "Review of the Year 1964-1965, Report of the President and the Director" PDF
    • On view: Gallery 602
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    • Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, ca. 1408–10
    Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni) (Italian, Florentine, documented 1391–1423/24)
    Tempera on wood, gold ground

    overall 26 x 16 7/8 in. (66.0 x 42.9 cm); 25 7/8 x 17 3/8 in. (65.7 x 44.1 cm); 24 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (62.2 x 44.5 cm); 22 3/8 x 17 in. (56.8 x 43.2 cm), respectively
    Gwynne Andrews and Marquand Funds, and Gift of Mrs. Ralph J. Hines, by exchange, 1965 (65.14.1–.4)


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