around 1365 -1439 · Ancona and late Gothic of Marche

Gold funds, collected figures and iconographic inventions make Olivuccio di Ciccarello an essential master of Gothic painting of the Marches.

Olivuccio di Ciccarello was probably born around 1365 and died in 1439. Documented mainly in Ancona from the end of the 14th century, he became one of the major figures in Marche painting between late Gothic and first renewals of the 15th century. Part of his work was long attributed to a supposed artist named Carlo da Camerino; Recent research has brought these paintings together under the name Olivuccio. He works with tempera and gold on panels for churches, brotherhoods and altars. The Virgin of Humility in the face of Eve's temptation brings together two opposing female models: Mary sitting on the ground with the Child embodies humility and salvation, while Eve and the serpent recalls the original fault. The apostles, archangels and angels place this confrontation in a celestial order. The panels of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, or of Saint James and Saint Andrew, belong to sets where the gold background, the attributes and the line of draperies guarantee devotional readability. In Olivuccio, preciousness never excludes a strong human presence. In Olivuccio, preciousness never excludes a strong human presence. The selection "Olivuccio di Ciccarello" notably compares the Virgin of Humility facing the temptation of Eve and Saint Peter and Saint Paul with angels. His reading favors light.

Olivuccio organizes gold as a spiritual space: the gesture, the attribute and the look connect each saint to the faithful placed in front of the panel.