Spinello Aretino

Spinello Aretino (c. 1350 – c. 1410) was an Italian painter from Arezzo, who was active in Tuscany at the end of the 14th and the first decade of the 15th century. His style influenced the development of late 14th- and early 15th-century painting in Tuscany.

Spinello Aretino was the son of a Florentine named Luca. His family was active in the goldsmith trade and had taken refuge in Arezzo in 1310 when the rest of the Ghibelline party was exiled from Florence. His actual name was Spinello Di Luca Spinelli, but he was called 'Aretino' which means 'from Arezzo'.

In the past it was believed that Spinello was a pupil of Jacopo del Casentino, a follower of Giotto. However, this is no longer accepted by art historians. Spinello's style was a sort of link between the school of Giotto and that of Siena. In the early part of his life he worked in Florence as an assistant to his master Jacopo while painting frescoes in the church of the Carmine and in Santa Maria Novella. Between 1360 and 1384 he was occupied in painting many frescoes in and near Arezzo, almost all of which have now perished.