Carlo Crivelli

Carlo Crivelli is one of the most distinctive painters of the Italian Renaissance. His panels are sharp, jewel-like and decorative: raised gilded haloes and crowns, garlands of apples, pears and cucumbers, marble steps and brocades, all painted with hard, precise outlines.

He was born in Venice around 1430 and trained there, probably with the Vivarini family, and he learned from Mantegna’s sharp style in Padua. He left Venice by 1458 and spent the rest of his career in the Marche, on the Adriatic coast, working mainly for Franciscan and Dominican churches. He painted only in tempera on panel, often with gold. The Annunciation with Saint Emidius of 1486, in the National Gallery in London, is his best known work.

Look at the details: the cucumber or apple laid on a ledge, the peacock on a roof, the small dove flying on a ray of gold. The Madonna of the Swallow is another good example.