NICCOLÒ DI PIETRO GERINI
(active 1366, Firenze, d. ca. 1415, Firenze)

Biography

Italian painter. He worked mainly in Florence, although he also carried out commissions in Pisa and Prato. He is first definitely recorded in 1368 as a member of the Arte dei Medici e Speziali in Florence but is almost certainly identifiable with the 'Niccolò dipintore' who collaborated with Jacopo di Cione in 1366 on frescoes for the Guildhall of the Judges and Notaries in Florence (destroyed). It is also likely that he is the 'Niccolaio dipintore' who worked with Jacopo di Cione on the altarpiece of the Coronation of the Virgin (London, National Gallery) for S Pier Maggiore, Florence, in 1370. In November of that year he was paid 12 gold florins 'per disegnare la tavola dell'altare', on which he had worked for 14 days. He probably designed the altarpiece and the elaborate throne canopy and left the execution to Jacopo di Cione. He is again documented as working with Jacopo di Cione on a Coronation of the Virgin (Florence, Accademia) commissioned by the Zecca Vecchia (mint) in 1372. Probably he was responsible for the design and Jacopo for the execution.

In 1383 Niccolò and Jacopo collaborated on a fresco of the Annunciation with the four patron saints of Volterra in the Palazzo dei Priori, Volterra, now in ruinous condition. The sinopia for this fresco has been uncovered and clearly shows the work of two very different artists: one was responsible for the design of all the architectural detail and drew with a very fine, precise line in a bright red ochre; the other, who was responsible for the side saints, drew much more broadly and freely, using a dark brown sinopia. The first is likely to be Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, the second Jacopo di Cione. In 1386 Niccolò worked on a fresco, of which only a fragment survives, of orphans being handed over to their adoptive parents, on the façade of the Bigallo, Florence. The contract names his collaborator as Ambrogio di Baldese (1352-1429).

Lorenzo di Niccolò di Martino was trained in Niccolò di Pietro Gerini' workshop but was not his son as sometimes erroneously stated.