_Fiorenzo di Lorenzo_ (Umbrian: 1472-1521).
These are the dates not of his birth and death (which are
unknown), but of the earliest and latest events recorded of
him. In 1472 he was commissioned to paint an altar-piece, the
principal parts of which may now be seen in the Pinacoteca
of Perugia, and he was elected a member of the Town Council
of Perugia. In 1521 he was commissioned to value some works
by another painter. The resemblance of his style to that of
Benozzo Gozzoli may be seen by comparing No. 283. Fiorenzo's
work is best seen in Perugia, where he reveals himself as an
artist of great feeling and ability. Especially remarkable
is the series of scenes from the life of Bernardino (some
reproduced by the Arundel Society). (See for notices of this
painter Morelli's _German Galleries_, p. 263, and S. Brinton's
_Renaissance in Italian Art_, pt. iii. pp. 108, 141).
The accompanying figures are--in front of the throne, St. Francis (on
the right of the Child), St Bernardino, a saint of Siena (on the left),
and in smaller size the donor of the altar-piece. This is one of the
earliest examples in the Gallery of the introduction of portraits in
this way. In the left-hand compartment St. John the Baptist; and in
the right-hand one St. Bartholomew, carrying his familiar attribute--a
blood-stained knife, the instrument of his martyrdom. The compartments
containing the figures of St. John the Baptist and St. Bartholomew
were originally at one side of the central panel, but have been placed
on each side for symmetry, the corresponding twin panels being lost.
Notice the beautiful pattern engraved on the gold background.