The fact that Gentile da Fabriano, who is one of the outstanding figures of Gothic painting of the beginning of the 15^th century in Italy, was a native of The Marches, where besides he was active for a certain length of time, explains why so many adherents of this movement were strongly influenced by him. Nevertheless in this province there were two painters, the brothers Lorenzo the First and Jacopo Salimbeni of Sanseverino who represented the cosmopolitan Gothic current of the beginning of the 15^th century in The Marches and who did not show a more direct connexion with Gentile’s manner than can be accounted for by the fact that both they and Gentile belonged to the same artistic movement. As will be seen later on, the Salimbeni brothers show a more marked northern element in their art.

Zusammenfassung

Wir haben bisher vom Erzieher schlechtweg gesprochen. Jeder denkt dabei an einen mündigen erwachsenen Menschen, der Einfluß nimmt auf die geistige und moralische Entwicklung eines einzelnen unmündigen. Aber die Gegenwart fordert, daß auch der Lehrer einer Klasse Erzieher sei, d. h. daß er eine nicht unbeträchtliche Mehrzahl von Zöglingen gleichzeitig durch seine Erziehungskraft in ihrer geistigen und moralischen Entwicklung beeinflusse. Es ist nun eine altbekannte Tatsache, daß jemand ein recht guter Privaterzieher sein kann, während er als Lehrer einer Klasse gänzlich versagt. Ebenso weiß jeder, der im Schulwesen tätig war, daß umgekehrt ein guter Klassenlehrer kein guter Einzelerzieher zu sein braucht.

Masolino’s real name was Tommaso and he was the son of Cristofano di Fino a whitewasher (²). According to a declaration made in 1427 by his father who lived at that moment in the quarter of Sta. Croce, our artist was born in 1383. In 1423 he is enrolled in the corporation of “Medici e Speziali” of Florence; from the same year dates the Madonna, now in Bremen. In 1424 we find him at work for the Confraternity of Sta. Croce in Empoli (³).

The pictorial movement to the south of Rome continues to be as meagre at the beginning of the 15^th century as it was found to be during the previous century. Evidence of the penetration of the cosmopolitan Gothic style is limited to a few isolated cases, generally of no importance, either in quantity or quality.