Avignon school, School of late Gothic painting associated with the city of Avignon, Fr., during the Avignon papacy, when many Italian artists worked there. This “school” represents a body of late Gothic painting and not necessarily a single stylistic evolution. Under the direction of Simone Martini, the papal palace of Avignon and secular buildings in nearby towns were decorated with frescoes. The city was one of the channels by which Italian 14th-century art reached France. By the early 15th century Flemish influences had reached the city, consolidating the Italian and northern styles. The Avignon Pietà (c. 1460), attributed to Enguerrand Charonton, is the masterpiece of the school. The artistic activity at Avignon greatly influenced French painting in the late 15th and 16th centuries. See also Gothic art.
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