Carlo da Camerino

Carlo da Camerino was the name given by an Italian art historian to identify an Italian painter who was presumed to have been active in the Marche region around the turn of the 15th century. A painted Crucifix, signed and dated in 1396, made for the church of San Michele Arcangelo in Macerata Feltria was attributed to this artist as well as other works in the Marche region.^[1]

Crucifix, now attributed to Olivuccio di Ciccarello

Research published in 2002 made clear that the name 'Carlo da Camerino' was based on a misreading of the inscription on the Crucifix in the church of San Michele Arcangelo, which reads as follows:

ALV......DECI..CARELLU DA CAMERINO PIN...

The art historian Cesare Brandi interpreted in 1935 the inscription as the signature of its author:

................CAROLLU DA CAMERINO PINXIT

From that moment the hypothesis of the existence of a painter of the Marche region by the name Carlo da Camerino was formed and subsequently many works were attributed to this artist including a Madonna with Child in Mondavio, dating from the year 1400.

In 2002, on the occasion of an exhibition on the Quattrocento in Camerino, the art historian Matteo Mazzalupi re-interpreted the inscription as:

ALVUCCIU DE CICCARELLU DA CAMERINO PINXIT

thus assigning the painting to Olivuccio di Ciccarello of Camerino.

As a result in 2002, all works attributed formerly to Carlo da Camerino have been re-attributed to the artist Olivuccio di Ciccarello, an artist of Camerino (in Italian: 'da Camerino'), which suggests a unanimous agreement among art historians regarding the re-interpretation and attribution.^{[2] [3][4]}

References

1. Encyclopedia Treccani, short biography.
2. MAZZALUPI, Matteo: «Carlo da Camerino, il pittore inesistente», L’Appennino camerte, LXXXII, n.20, 18 de mayo de 2002, p. 5. (Italian)
3. ROWLEY, Neville «Comment exposer son Quattrocento ? La régionalisation de l’histoire de l’art, limite ou chance pour la discipline ?», Recueil de textes issus de la Journée d’étude franco-italienne Actualité des recherches en Histoire d'Art. France-Italie, MSH Alpes, 2008; p. 8 (French)
4. Giovanni Venturi, La croce dipinta di Macerata Feltria: luoghi e vicende di un’opera d’arte del XIV secolo fra le più straordinarie delle Marche, p. 1 (Italian)