Regions: Lombardy and the Duchy of Milan (1 of 2)

Lombardy, the large area of northwestern Italy under the control of the dukes of Milan, maintained its own artistic traditions and was a major center of court art at the onset of the fifteenth century, belonging to a pan-European movement known as the International style. The highly inventive Initial A with Pentecost shown here is attributed to the Lombard-trained painter Stefano da Verona (c. 1374–c. 1438), a major exponent of this late Gothic style in northern Italy. Pentecost is the moment when the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles, endowing them with the ability to speak foreign languages so they may preach throughout the world. Stefano has endowed his subject with sweetness and a sense of intimacy through his refined technique and delicate palette as well as the tenderness of expression in the figures of the apostles, the Virgin, and God the Father above.

Regions: Lombardy and the Duchy of Milan (2 of 2) Regions: Florence and Siena (2 of 2)