around 1325/26 -1379 · Modena, Bologna, Treviso and Gothic naturalism

Individualized faces, familiar gestures and readable stories make Tomaso da Modena an innovative observer of the 14th century.

Tomaso Barisini, called Tomaso da Modena, was born in Modena around 1325 or 1326 and died there in 1379. Trained first with his father Barisino then in the Bolognese environment, he assimilated the vivacity of Vitale da Bologna and the precise taste of miniaturists. His first signed works, including a small triptych from 1345, already show attention to expressions and daily details. From the end of the 1340s, Tomaso stayed for a long time in Treviso. In 1352, he painted in the chapter house of the Dominican convent of San Nicolo a gallery of forty famous religious, seated at their desks with books, writing tools and individualized features; one of them wears one of the first known depictions of glasses in Western painting. His naturalism does not break with Gothic, but animates it through the observation of gestures, furniture and temperaments. The cycle of the Stories of Saint Ursula, today at the Museo di Santa Caterina, develops this narrative capacity on a large scale. The Pope's Abdication brings together architecture, hierarchy and event, while Ursula's Farewell to her Mother concentrates emotion in the looks and hands. Tomaso also works for Charles IV and his works for Karlštejn Castle play an important role in bohemian painting. His art also links Bologna, Veneto and Central Europe. The selection " Tomaso da Modena notably compares The Pope's Abdication and Ursula's Farewell to Her Mother. His reading favors composition.

Tomaso introduces everyday life into Gothic: a look, a pair of glasses or a placed hand make the story present.