Giovanni di Paolo

Painter, born in Siena, C Italy. Though little is known of his life, many documented works by him have survived, dating from 1426 to c.1475. Like his contemporary Sassetta, he worked in a style which was essentially archaizing, continuing the tradition of Sienese Trecento masters rather than looking to new developments elsewhere.

Giovanni Di Paolo (1403-1482), was one of the most important painters of the 15th century Sienese school. Many of his works have an unusual dreamlike atmosphere, such as the surrealistic Miracle of St. Nicholas of Tolentino painted about 1455 and now housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, while his last works, particularly Last Judgment, Heaven, and Hell from about 1465 and Assumption painted in 1475, both at Pinacoteca, Siena, are grotesque treatments of their lofty subjects.