quattrocento

American  

[kwah-troh-chen-toh, kwaht-traw-chen-taw] / ˌkwɑ troʊˈtʃɛn toʊ, ˌkwɑt trɔˈtʃɛn tɔ /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

1. the 15th century, used in reference to the Italian art and literature of that time.

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quattrocento British  

/ ˌkwætrəʊˈtʃɛntəʊ, kwattroˈtʃɛnto /

noun

1. the 15th century, esp in reference to Renaissance Italian art and literature

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Other Word Forms

• quattrocentist noun

Etymology

Origin of quattrocento

1870–75; < Italian, short for mil quattro cento 1400, occurring in the names of all the years from 1400 to 1499

Example Sentences

Like many old masters of the quattrocento, he painted religious works, portraits and mythological scenes.

From Washington Times • Feb. 1, 2015

The other gives a mostly fictional account of the nonfictional quattrocento painter Francesco del Cossa, whom Ms. Smith first came across in a copy of Frieze, the art magazine.

From New York Times • Nov. 25, 2014

As in many quattrocento paintings, the peripheral activity has a detached, dreamlike quality.

From The Guardian • Apr. 20, 2013

His marbles of the Madonna and Child have the lyrical tenderness of the finest quattrocento masters.

From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2010

All the time he is working out problems, he is dominated by the emotion of his subject, but his emotion, his pathos, are invariably tempered and restrained by the calm moderation of the quattrocento.

From The Venetian School of Painting by Phillipps, Evelyn March