page_title: Niccolò da Bologna
hierarchical_section_title: Niccolò da Bologna
caption_attribution_description: Niccolò da Bologna's tempera and gold on parchment, 1494-1502, J. Paul Getty Trust. This illuminated letter 'S' is one of twenty known large historiated initials made for a choir book commissioned by the Carthusian monastery of Santo Spirito in Lucca. It portrays Pentecost, the moment in which the Holy Spirit descends upon the twelve apostles in order to give them the ability to speak foreign languages so they might preach throughout the world. Although all twelve apostles are shown, sometimes only a forehead or a hint of a nose indicates the body.
context_page_description: Niccolò di Giacomo da Bologna, usually known as Niccolò da Bologna, was one of the most important and prolific manuscript illuminators in 14th-century Bologna. He was active from about 1349 to 1403. He is known for his expressive figures and crowded, action-filled narrative scenes. The first signed works by Niccolò are all copies of Gratian's ‘Decretals’, one of the standard works of canon law. He and his workshop later illuminated a variety of other manuscripts, including university texts, choir books and other liturgical texts, private devotional books, and even works of secular poetry and drama. Niccolò also illuminated a number of specialty books made for various corporate groups in the city, such as statute books and guild registers. He was a financially successful artist who was appointed illuminator to the city of Bologna in the 1380s and was an active member of city government. He was the uncle of the artist Jacopo di Paolo.
context_section_description: Niccolò di Giacomo da Bologna (c. 1325 – c. 1403), usually known as Niccolò da Bologna, was one of the most important and prolific manuscript illuminators in 14th-century Bologna. He was active from about 1349 to 1403.  He is known for his expressive figures and crowded, action-filled narrative scenes. The first signed works by Niccolò are all copies of Gratian's ‘Decretals’, one of the standard works of canon law. He and his workshop later illuminated a variety of other manuscripts, including university texts, choir books and other liturgical texts, private devotional books, and even works of secular poetry and drama. Niccolò also illuminated a number of specialty books made for various corporate groups in the city, such as statute books and guild registers.  He was a financially successful artist who was appointed illuminator to the city of Bologna in the 1380s and was an active member of city government.  He was the uncle of the artist Jacopo di Paolo (active 1371-1426).
caption: Niccolò da Bologna's tempera and gold on parchment, 1394-1402, J. Paul Getty Trust
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