Berlinghiero

Berlinghiero, also as Berlinghiero Berlinghieri or Berlinghiero of Lucca (fl. 1228 – between 1236 and 1242), was an Italian painter in the Italo-Byzantine style of the early thirteenth century. He was the father of the painters Barone Berlinghieri, Bonaventura Berlinghieri, and Marco Berlinghieri. His actual name is unknown, as he is known from the inscription "Berlingerius me pinxit" on the crucifix which is the basis of attributing other works to the name. The form "Berlinghiero Berlinghieri", once common in art history, is certainly not his name according to Edward B. Garrison and most recent sources, however, his commonly accepted name is still Berlinghiero. He is also mentioned in a parchment dated March 22, 1228, among the names of the residents of Lucca who swore to keep the peace with Pisa after a five-year war. The original document has been lost since the mid-19th century and only a somewhat garbled 17th-century transcription exists today, giving rise to the mistaken interpretation of attributing him an incorrect name and an incorrect Lombardic origin. Since his two adult sons were also mentioned in that document, it can be argued that Berlinghiero was then between 35 and 40 years old. This puts his birthday in the year 1175, and his death in the year 1236.