# Barnaba da Modena

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barnaba_da_Modena
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barnaba_da_Modena.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnaba_da_Modena
> Source revision: 1275579883
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Italian painter}}
[[File:Barnaba da Modena - Madonna and Child - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Madonna and Child'', [Städel](/source/St%C3%A4del)]]
'''Barnaba da Modena''' (c. 1328-c.1386) was a mid-14th-century [Italian painter](/source/Italy) who painted in the style of Byzantine art.<ref name=marle>[Raimond Van Marle](/source/Raimond_Van_Marle), ''The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting'', Springer Science & Business Media, 2012, p. 382-383</ref>  He is considered the first [Lombard](/source/Lombardy) painter of note and was active in Lombardy, [Piedmont](/source/Piedmont), and [Pisa](/source/Pisa) in Tuscany.<ref>[Joseph Archer Crowe](/source/Joseph_Archer_Crowe) and [Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle](/source/Giovanni_Battista_Cavalcaselle). ''A New History of Painting in Italy: From the II to the XVI Century'', Volume 2, page 164-167.</ref><ref>{{cite book | first= Maria|last= Farquhar| year=1855| title= Biographical catalogue of the principal Italian painters|  editor = Ralph Nicholson Wornum|  editor-link = Ralph Nicholson Wornum| pages= [https://archive.org/details/biographicalcata00farqrich/page/106 106]–7 | publisher=  Woodfall & Kinder, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London| url= https://archive.org/details/biographicalcata00farqrich}}</ref>

==Life==
As his name indicates, the artist was a native of [Modena](/source/Modena) (Emilia). The first records regarding Barnaba date to 1361 and 1362 when he had already become a Genoese citizen and was hiring Tuscan assistants.<ref name=barn>John Richards, "Barnaba da Modena." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 17 March 2016</ref>  His earliest dated paintings relate to his activities in Genoa.  He produced paintings for the [Palazzo Ducale](/source/Doge's_Palace%2C_Genoa) in Genoa in 1364. His earliest known painting is a [polyptych](/source/polyptych) of the ''Virgin and Child with Saints'' ([Palazzo Bianco](/source/Palazzo_Bianco), Genoa), which combines the Gothic style of Tuscan polyptychs with Emilian design.   Another work, a [''Virgin and Child''](/source/%3AFile%3ABarnaba_da_Modena_-_Virgin_and_Child_-_WGA1281.jpg) ([Museum of Fine Arts, Boston](/source/Museum_of_Fine_Arts%2C_Boston)), shows the influence of [Sienese painting](/source/Sienese_School) in the rounded faces and the gold-striated highlights on Mary's mantle.

He was active in 1370 in [Turin](/source/Turin). A painting (1377) by Barnaba was documented by Tiraboschi in the church of San Francesco in [Alba](/source/Alba%2C_Piedmont).

thumb|300px|Christ with Apostles and Saints

Barnaba likely spent time in Pisa around 1380.

==Work==
Barnaba was a prolific artist who left about 50 works.<ref name=barn/>  
He was successful in Genoa thanks to his adherence to the older style of Byzantine painting that was still very popular in the city. This explains his compositional schemes and the use of gold highlights and golden backgrounds, which are typical of [Byzantine painting](/source/Byzantine_art).<ref name=barn/><ref name=suck>Ingo F. Walther, [Robert Suckale](/source/Robert_Suckale), ''Masterpieces of Western Art: A History of Art in 900 Individual Studies from the Gothic to the Present Day'', Taschen, 2002, p. 47</ref>

An eclectic artist who did not follow the new trends that had developed in the 14th century, Barnaba was able to achieve a debt of feeling in his early works through his refined technique.<ref name=marle/> Barnaba dominated painting in later 14th-century Genoa and possibly even in Pisa. His follower [Nicolò da Voltri](/source/Nicol%C3%B2_da_Voltri) continued in his imagery and style in Liguria until c. 1420.<ref name=barn/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Barnaba da Modena|Barnaba da Modena}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnaba da Modena}}
Category:Trecento painters
Category:14th-century Italian painters
Category:Italian male painters
Category:Painters from Lombardy
Category:Gothic painters
Category:Year of death unknown
Category:Year of birth unknown

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barnaba da Modena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnaba_da_Modena) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnaba_da_Modena?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.