Taddeo Gaddi

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Taddeo Gaddi

(born c. 1300, Florence — died 1366?, Florence) Italian painter active in Florence. He was the son of a painter and mosaicist and a student of Giotto. His best-known works are frescoes in the church of Santa Croce in Florence. He directed a flourishing workshop for three decades, producing pictures in the style of Giotto but featuring more vivid picturesque effects with narrative detail. His son and pupil Agnolo (c. 1350 – 96) was an influential and prolific artist who likewise produced a notable series of frescoes for Santa Croce, The Legend of the True Cross (c. 1388 – 93).

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Art Encyclopedia: Taddeo Gaddi

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( fl ?mid-1320s; d 1366). Son of (1) Gaddo Gaddi. He was a pupil of Giotto and one of the most inventive and influential painters in 14th-century Florence. According to Cennini, Taddeo stayed with Giotto for 24 years. Although the exact length of their association is unverifiable, it probably ended only with the latter's death in 1337. Taddeo probably occupied a still undefined but doubtless important position in Giotto's workshop during the master's busy last years, but such responsibility did not prevent him undertaking work on his own as early as the 1320s.

Part of the Gaddi family

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Architecture and Landscaping: Taddeo Gaddi

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(c.1297– after c.1366)

Consultant architect to the Cathedral in Florence (where he probably completed Giotto's campanile from 1337), he also appears to have been responsible for the rebuilding of the Ponte Vecchio (1333–45). He may also have worked at the Palazzo Vecchio (c.1333). Agnolo Gaddi (fl. second half of C14), presumably Taddeo's son, may have designed several Florentine buildings, but the evidence is confused.

Bibliography

W.Papworth (1852)
Sturgis et al. (1901–2)
Vasari (1568)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

Wikipedia: Taddeo Gaddi

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The Angelic Announcement to the Shepherds (1328-30) Fresco in Cappella Baroncelli Santa Croce, Florence

Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1300 – 1366) was a medieval Italian painter and architect. As a painter, he created altar-pieces and murals and is primarily noted as a pupil and follower of Giotto. As an architect, he is credited with the design of the Ponte Vecchio.

Life and art

Son of Gaddo Gaddi, an artist of whom little is known, Taddeo's art education came primarily as a pupil of, and assistant to, the painter Giotto di Bondone. Cennino Cennini referred to Taddeo as Giotto's godson and claimed that their relationship lasted 24 years.[1]

Early works such as the The Stigmatization of Saint Francis (c.1325-1330, tempera on wood panel) demonstrate a subtle recasting of Giotto's style.

Perhaps his most famous works are the series of frescoes depicting the lives of the Virgin and of Christ in the Giugni Chapel (née Baroncelli Chapel) at Santa Croce in Florence (1328-38). The Angelic Announcement to the Shepherds (depicted at right) illustrates Taddeo's interest in light and its effects. His study of solar eclipses in particular would eventually lead to serious eye injury in 1339.[2]

As an architect, Taddeo Gaddi is credited with the design of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, as well as the neighboring Ponte Santa Trinita, which was destroyed in the 16th century.[3]

Two facts point to Taddeo Gaddi's importance as a Florentine artist:

Giorgio Vasari included a biography of Taddeo Gaddi in his Lives.
Taddeo's name appears atop a list of 'the best masters of painting who are in Florence'.[4]

Taddeo Gaddi produced four sons, three of whom were known artists: Giovanni Gaddi, Agnolo Gaddi and Niccolò Gaddi. There is no evidence to demonstrate that his fourth son, Zanobi, was ever a serious artist.

References

"Agnolo, Giovanni and Taddeo Gaddi". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06332b.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
"Gaddi, Taddeo". Web Gallery of Art. http://www.wga.hu/bio/g/gaddi/taddeo/biograph.html. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
"The Angelic Announcement to the Shepherds". Web Gallery of Art. http://www.wga.hu/html/g/gaddi/taddeo/4announc.html. Retrieved 2007-01-29.

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