Luca Signorelli | |
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![]() Self-portrait of Signorelli, from The Preaching of the Antichrist, 1500–1504 | |
Born | Luca d'Egidio di Ventura 1441 Cortona, Italy |
Died | 16 October 1523 Cortona, Italy | (aged 81–82)
Nationality | Italian |
Known for | Painting |
Movement | Early Renaissance |
Spouse | Gallizia di Piero Carnesecchi |
Father | Egidio di Ventura |
Luca Signorelli (c. 1441/1445 – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona, in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the Last Judgment (1499–1503) in Orvieto Cathedral are considered his masterpiece.
In his early 40s he returned to live in Cortona, after working in Florence, Siena and Rome (1478–84, painting a now lost section of the Sistine Chapel). With an established reputation, he remained based in Cortona for the rest of his life, but often travelled to the cities of the region to fulfill commissions. He was probably trained by Piero della Francesca in Florence, as his cousin Giorgio Vasari wrote, and his Quattrocento style became rather out of date in the new century.
Cortona will host a major exhibition in 2023 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his death.[1]