GIOVANNI DA RIMINI

GIOVANNI da Rimini. – Pittore riminese del sec. XIV, spesso confuso con Giovanni Baronzio (v.), pur esso pittore riminese ed a lui contemporaneo.
GIOVANNI da Rimini. – Pittore riminese del sec. XIV, spesso confuso con Giovanni Baronzio (v.), pur esso pittore riminese ed a lui contemporaneo.

GIOVANNI da Rimini. – A Rimini painter of the 14th century, BRONZO (v.), also a Rimini painter and his contemporary.

Whereas the stylistic foundation for reconstructing the figure of the latter painter must be recognized in works signed by him precisely with the name of Baronzio, such as the *Polittico* in the Galleria Nazionale of Urbino, dated 1345, for reconstructing the figure of G. da R. it is appropriate to start from the *Crocifisso* in the church of S. Francesco at Mercatello, signed *Joanna de Arimino* in 1344. In this case, another *Crocifisso* from the Diotallevi collection, now in the Pinacoteca Civica of Rimini, some frescoes in the Rimini church of S. Agostino, and some painted panels in various Italian and foreign collections may also be assigned to the painter.

Unlike Giovanni Baronzio, whose stylistic ancestry, apart from generic Giottism, is easily recognizable in the work of Giuliano da Rimini, G. da R., on a Giottesque foundation, developed a style whose essential beauty derives from the richness of an intense color that harmoniously models forms, foreshadowing achievements that would later belong to Venetian painting. If it were possible to demonstrate that the great *Crocifisso* in the Tempio Malatestiano, which some attribute to Giotto himself but which for many reasons is thought to be the work of a great master oriented in a similar direction to G. da R., should be assigned to G. da R., he himself could truly be considered the leading exponent of the Romagna school of painting in the 14th century.

Bibl.: C. Brandi, Catalogo della mostra della pittura riminese del Trecento, Rimini 1935, V. indice; E. Lavagnino, L'arte medievale, Torino 1936, pp. 718-19; G. Ravaioli, G. da R. e Giovanni Baronzio, in Ariminum, 1938. Emilio Lavagnino