Jacopo di Cione

Florentine art in the later 14th century was dominated by the work of Andrea di Cione (known as Orcagna), who was active as painter, sculptor and architect from about 1343. He was assisted by his brothers, Matteo (a stone-mason), Nardo and Jacopo.

Many of Jacopo's works, including frescoes at Volterra and the altarpiece of the 'Coronation of the Virgin' in the Collection, were undertaken in collaboration with the Florentine painter Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, who probably designed the complex overall structure of the Coronation altarpiece. Jacopo di Cione was registered with the Florentine Physicians' Guild, to which painters belonged, in 1369 and apparently took over the running of the family workshop after Andrea's death.

Although the 'Coronation of the Virgin' shows evidence of workshop participation, sections of it demonstrate that Jacopo was inventive both as a story-teller and in his use of novel pigment mixtures and colour relationships.