Engraving Drawing carried out on a hard surface, called matrix, either by hand, using a pointed instrument (burin, graving tool), or chemically, using corrosive substances, for decoration or printing reproduction. By extension, this term is used for the technical process used for printing reproduction as well as for the resulting product itself. Fiorentino, Pier Francesco (documented 1474-1497) This painter’s works reveal a vivid eclecticism influenced by the styles of Benozzo Gozzoli and Domenico Veneziano; he was commissioned many works in the area of Empoli; he also worked for the Church of Santa Maria in Canonica in Colle Val d’Elsa and he executed some frescoes for the Collegiate Church of San Gimignano. He turned out to be a pleasant and reactionary artist who met his clients’ traditionalist tastes. The decorative hyperbole which characterizes most of his paintings is always rendered through a neat execution and obsolete compositive schemes. Fresco Painting technique on a wall support that makes use of the lime of the wall plaster as a binder. Gaddi, Agnolo (documented Florence 1369-1396) The son of Taddeo, he was a painter, too. His production, characterized by graceful and fantastic tones, testifies to the cross-references to Giotto’s schematism, on one hand, and to
the new late Gothic suggestions, on the other. His important fresco cycles, executed with collaborators, are to be mentioned, especially The Legend of the Cross in the choir and the Stories from the Life of Anchorites in the Castellani Chapel in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. Gilding A technique used to apply gold on various supports such as wood, parchment, leather, paper, walls, etc. The gold can be applied in leaves or in dust, according to different procedures; for gilding metal surfaces, similarly to the silvering technique, one begins with an amalgam: an alloy of pure gold, or silver, and mercury that, when spread on a suitably prepared and heated metal, causes the mercury to evaporate and the precious metal to adhere to the support. Giovanni Pisano (Pisa 1248 ca.-1319 ca.) An architect and a sculptor of great renown, he was a pupil of his father Nicola. He probably collaborated with him in the execution of the pulpit of Pisa’s Baptistery and definitely in that of Siena. He soon developed a personal style characterized by an inclination towards the pathetic expressionism, influenced by the transalpine Gothic. His first renowned work executed on his own is the Fontana Maggiore in Perugia. He was master builder in the Cathedral of Siena between 1289 and 1296, where he attained a balanced synthesis between architectural structure and sculpture. Among his works are the pulpits for english version
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