FAQs

Your questions, answered.

  • The goal is to provide a centralized resource of information for public and private collectors, art dealers and other fondo oro enthusiasts.

  • Fondo Oro Magazine focuses on the transformative period between c. 1250 and 1430. This timeframe captures the evolution from Byzantine-influenced traditions to the naturalism of the early Renaissance.

  • Fondo Oro Magazine documents the full range of influential and notable masters from various Italian schools, including Florentine like Giotto di Bondone and Bernardo Daddi, Sienese Masters such as Duccio di Buoninsegna and Simone Martini, and early Venetian artists like Paolo Veneziano.

    As you walk through the galleries of early Italian painting, you'll find that a lot of the gold-ground works were created by anonymous masters to whom we have given affectionate placeholder names (Name-of-convenience) like Master of the Magdalen.

  • Yes. There is a dedicated "Recurring depictions" page that categorizes works by common themes and figures. This includes prevalent motifs such as the Madonna con Bambino (Madonna and Child), the Crocifissionedi Cristo (Crucifixion), and the Incoronazione di Maria Vergine (Coronation of the Virgin).

  • To assist in technical and historical research, we categorize works by their original form and function. This includes categories for (complete) Polyptychs, Single Predella panels, Triptychs, Painted Crucifixes and Dossals, as well as smaller portable altarpieces. These are among the most common object categories.

  • Fondo Oro Insider is our newsletter. New exhibitions, publications, research and rediscoveries in Italian gold-ground painting — once a month.

  • The images on the website are sourced from various public sources and private collections. While many are in the public domain (such as many from Wikimedia Commons), others may be subject to copyright. We provide photo credits for all works to assist researchers in identifying the original image sources.

  • Under “Publications”. There you find a list of recommended publications. This includes monographs on Italian gold-ground masters or works and exhibition or collection catalogs.

  • If you have information regarding specific panels, provenance details, or wish to collaborate on a project, please contact me at info@fondo-oro.art. I’m based in Bonn, Germany.