Stylistic and iconographic features and evolution of the Luccan school of painting through the example of painted crosses made by the Berlinghieri's workshop

Abstract

The article analyses the formal, stylistic, and iconographic features of the Luccan school of painting. The study focuses on the painted crosses made by the Berlingieri workshop in the 13th century, which marked the “golden age” of Luccan artistic culture. Among the main schools of painting that emerged in Tuscany in the 13th century, the Pisan, Sienese and Florentine schools are widely studied in art history literature, while the Luccan school is often overlooked. However, during the period in question it was at its peak, which was associated with the workshop founded by Berlinghiero Berlinghieri, also known as Berlinghiero di Milanese. Berlingieri's workshop created a numerous painted crosses, which are the subject of this study. Painted crosses, also known as croci dipinte, were a significant phenomenon in Italy's artistic and religious life during the 12th–14th centuries. They were particularly popular in Umbria and Tuscany. However, in order to analyse their formal, stylistic and iconographic features, which are the subject of the study, earlier examples of painted crosses of the Luccan school, as well as some iconic monuments of a similar kind, executed later, were also involved. This made it possible to trace the characteristic features and evolution of the Luccan school of painting. The study employed formal-stylistic, iconographic, and comparative methods. The study's results provide insight into the significance of Berlingieri's workshop within the Luccan painting tradition and allow us to evaluate its peculiarities and outline the ways of further research.