Giovanni Dal Ponte

Giovanni dal Ponte was a Florentine minor master painter of the late-Gothic period, known as one of the greatest minor masters contemporary to Masaccio. He is known by Giorgio Vasari as dal Ponte, a name derived from the location of his studio at the Piazza di Santo Stefano a Ponte. Many other documents cite his name as Giovanni di Marco. After joining the Arte dei Medici e degli Speziali in 1410 and the Compagnia di S Luca in 1413, dal Ponte opened his studio in the late 1420s and hired Florentine painter Smeraldo di Giovanni as his assistant. Smeraldo was hired after dal Ponte was imprisoned in 1424 due to failure to repay his debts, with the intention that Smeraldo would manage the logistical aspects of the workshop in addition to his artwork. Dal Ponte used his craftsmanship to create not only Panel paintings, but also frescoes and decorations for small objects. Dal Ponte's work is considered to be of the Late Gothic style, though he assimilated the stylistic preferences of his contemporaries; Lorenzo Monaco, Masaccio, and Lorenzo Ghiberti served as his primary influences.