The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting

The pictorial production which, in Tuscany, belongs to the cosmopolitan Gothic style, exhibits certain peculiarities which differentiate it from the other local groups. The cause of this phenomenon must be looked for in the artistic movement in th Florence and Siena before the beginning of the I5 century. It is evident that in these two towns artistic currents were established which were so to say autonomous and provided in themselves a strong reaction against any outside influence. Moreover, contrary to the regions of Northern Italy, both the towns of Florence and Siena were too far distant from other countries to feel the effects of the evolution that took place in the field of figurative art. It is true that certain districts to the south of Tuscany were influenced by foreign schools but this can be accounted for by the feebleness of local centres of any importance, if not their entire absence.