Michele Di Matteo

Italian painter (Michele di Matteo da Bologna; or da Calcina or da Fornace). He is first documented in 1410, when he collaborated with Francesco Lola (1393-1419) in the design of decorations to celebrate the arrival of the anti-pope Alexander V (reg 1409-10) in Bologna. His name appears on the register of the Quattro Arti in 1415 and various minor works by him are documented in the following years, including the decoration, in 1418, of a flag (untraced). In 1426 he executed his first important work, a polyptych (untraced) for the Compagnia dei Calzolari, Bologna. In 1428 Michele was working with Giovanni da Modena and Pietro Lianori (fl 1446-60), and their influence is reflected in the dry, incisive drawing style and harshness of expression in both face and gesture that can be seen, for example, in the Death of the Virgin and St Bartholomew and the Emperor Constantine (both Pesaro, Museo Civivico), the Coronation of the Virgin (Pisa, Museo Nazionale di San Matteo) and the frescoes of the Road to Calvary and the Crucifixion in S Stefano, Bologna.

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