Altichiero da Zevio

Altichiero da Zevio was the leading painter in Verona and Padua in the late fourteenth century. Following Giotto, he painted frescoes with solid figures, believable architecture and crowds of people, and his scenes feel more spacious and lifelike than most of his time.

Born near Verona, he worked for the della Scala family, the rulers of Verona, and painted in the church of Sant’Anastasia there. In Padua he painted the chapel of San Giacomo (San Felice) in the Basilica of Sant’Antonio and the Oratorio di San Giorgio, his most important surviving cycles. His Crucifixion in Padua is a vast scene filled with soldiers, horses and mourners.

Most of his work is still in place on church walls. Look at the crowds, where each figure is an individual, and the painted buildings that frame the action.