NICCOLÒ DI TOMMASO

Italian painter, probably born in Pistoia during the first half of the fourteenth century. There are a handful of paintings made by him between 1350 and 1380, such as the S. Antonio triptychGLOSSARYA painting in three sections, usually an altarpiece, consisting of a central panel and two outer panels, or wings. In many medieval triptychs the two outer wings were hinged so that could be closed over the center panel. Early triptychs were often portable. of 1571 (Museum of S. Martino, Naples), SS. Giovanni e Paolo (Horne Collection, Florence), and the Nativity (Johnson Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art). The chapelGLOSSARYa small separate place for worship, either part of a large church or a separate building. of the Tau monasteryGLOSSARYthe complex of buildings used by a community of monks. Among the main elements of the complex are the church, cloister, chapter house (used by the governing body), refectory (dining room) and dormitory (sleeping quarters). in Pistoia, recently restored, houses a frescoGLOSSARYWall painting technique in which pigments are applied to wet (fresh) plaster (intonaco). The pigments bind with the drying plaster to form a very durable image. Only a small area can be painted in a day, and these areas, drying to a slightly different tint, can in time be seen. Small amounts of retouching and detail work could be carried out on the dry plaster, a technique known as a secco fresco. cycle which were carried out in the last three decades of the fourteenth century by Niccolò di Tommaso and some of his assistants. In the 1370s he was also active in Naples.