Luca Signorelli

In the shadow of the Vatican, one Renaissance painter dared to anatomize the human body in ways that shocked Florence and laid the groundwork for Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. Luca Signorelli, born in Cortona around 1445, spent his life perfecting the art of foreshortening, rendering the human figure in daring perspectives that seemed to leap from the picture plane. Maud Cruttwell's late-Victorian biography traces this singular artist's journey from his mysterious early years through his transformative years in Florence, Rome, and Siena, culminating in the commission that defined his legacy: the staggering Last Judgment frescoes (1499-1503) in Orvieto Cathedral. These enormous compositions, alive with twisting nudes and tormented souls, directly influenced the young Michelangelo. Cruttwell draws on Vasari and contemporary records to reconstruct Signorelli's world, a world where artistic innovation meant battling convention, where a painter's reputation could rise or fall on a single commission. The book captures both the man and his revolutionary technique, revealing why Signorelli earned the admiration of generations of artists who followed.