On 20 September 1374, painter Antonio Veneziano registered with the Arte dei Medici e Speziali in Florence. Because pigments were sold by apothecaries (speziali), professional painters working in Florence typically joined the guild of the physicians and pharmacists. Florentine artists also typically joined the Compagnia di San Luca – a confraternity dedicated to the Evangelist Luke, who was believed to have been a painter.
Though from Venice, Antonio, who was active between 1369 and 1388, is best known for his time spent working in Florence and Pisa, where he painted acclaimed frescoes dedicated to the city’s patron saint Ranerius. In addition to working elsewhere in Tuscany, it is possible that Antonio worked for a time in Toledo, Spain. As was common for artists working abroad, Antonio was known by his birthplace rather than his father’s or a family name.
Reference: Cornelia Syre. “Antonio Veneziano.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
Virgin and Child, ca. 1380. Boston: MFA
Apostle James the Greater, c. 1384, Berlin: Staatliche Museen