Giovanni da Modena is first recorded in Bologna in 1409; the following year he was paid for the hangings for an important funeral in San Francesco, Bologna. His major surviving work is the fresco decoration of the Bolognini Chapel in San Petronio, Bologna, commissioned in Bartolomeo Bolognini’s will of 1408. It is attributed to Giovanni on the basis of his later work (1420-21) in the neighbouring chapel of S Abbondio. Bolognini stipulated that there should be a Paradise, in which Giovanni shows rows of saints seated on benches, contemplating the Coronation of the Virgin, an Inferno ‘as horrible as possible’ and a Journey of the Magi.

On the altar wall Giovanni, assisted by Jacopo di Paolo (who painted the altarpiece and stained glass), depicted the Legend of St Petronius, bishop and protector of Bologna. The fresco of the installation of a bishop (perhaps Giovanni di Michele of Bologna, reg 1412-17) by the anti-pope John XXIII suggests a dating of c. 1412-20. The Petronius scenes are set against details of Bologna’s townscape; the embarkation and papal scenes recall illuminations of Bolognese shipping law and canon law manuscripts respectively. The hollow-cheeked faces and dark shadows probably show the influence and assistance of Jacopo di Paolo.

The Departure of Petronius reflects Giotto’s Visitation (Padua, Scrovegni Chapel), though this echo may be via Tommaso da Modena, another likely influence on Giovanni. A similarity between the Inferno scene and those of the Master of the Brussels Initials also has been shown. But the architectural style, the rocky gorges, the pinks and greens and the long oval faces with dreamy eyes show that Giovanni’s style was above all adapted from Agnolo Gaddi’s, adding an International Gothic interest in the fashionable, lavish and exotic that was probably fuelled by contact with the art of the Visconti court and with foreign visitors in Bologna.

Such details as pointed Hungarian hats, baggy-brimmed boots, extravagantly curled beards and a jester wearing bells appear alongside stewards driving flies from camels. The panels of SS Cosmas and Damian (Berlin, Gemäldegalerie) can be closely associated with these frescoes in date and style.

Source: travelingintuscany.com