TOMASO DA MODENA

Tomaso dei Baresini was born in Modena in 1326.
He fled in 1348 to escape the plague then raging there (described by Boccaccio) and came to Treviso. Here, the many monastic Orders began immediately to commission frescoes from him.
It is in Treviso that he left his best works: the "Ciclo dei Domenicani" (the dominican series) in the cloister of the church of San Nicolò; his "Storie di S. Orsola" (tales of St. Orsola) in the church of Santa Margherita; and other frescoes of religious images in the churches of Santa Lucia, San Francesco, Santa Maria Maggiore, and Santa Caterina.
In the history of art, Tomaso da Modena is considered a foreunner of his day. He did, in fact, revolutionise painting techniques, using colour in a new and unique way.
He introduced perspective views and, even if the technique was not yet refined, his search to give a sense of depht and perspective and to represent the image as realistically as possible, is evident.
The dark red line  which outlines his faces also helps to emphasise the sense of humanity, warmth and hence, realism, to each character and his entire painting.
In his day and for many decades to follow, Tomaso da Modena was the only artist to express humanity over spirituality. His figures are real people, with personalities and he captures them in the immediacy of everyday life. He is attentive to both the external and internal realities of every character at the same time.