Pier Antonio Mezzastris (or Mezastris; c. 1430 – c. 1506) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, belonging to the Umbrian school of painting.

Mezzastris was born at Foligno

Foligno

Foligno is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system...

 in Umbria

Umbria

Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...

. He painted religious subjects, working mostly in fresco, and was a local painter, in that all of his known works can be found within 15 km (10 mi) of his hometown, except for two frescoes in Narni

Narni

Narni is an ancient hilltown and comune of Umbria, in central Italy, with 20,100 inhabitants, according to the 2003 census. At an altitude of 240 m , it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. It is very close to the Geographic center of Italy...

. Though his subjects are very limited, his work is good, marked by technical ability and polish combined with elegance and delicacy of feeling. He should not be confused with Bernardino Mezzastris

Bernardino Mezzastris

Bernardino Mezzastris , Italian painter of the Umbrian school, probably from Foligno in Umbria. He was a minor artist: some of his frescoes on religious subjects survive, but garner little critical acclaim...

, a much lesser artist, possibly his son.

Works

Definite works by Mezzastris include:

• in and near Foligno:
  • several detached frescoes now in the Pinacoteca Civica, including a Madonna and Saints (signed and dated 1486)
  • a large monochrome fresco in the church of S. Domenico
  • Madonna and Child with St Lucia and St Claire, fresco (1471) in the monastery of S. Lucia
  • Madonna and Child with Two Female Saints, fresco in the monastery of S. Anna
  • Madonna and Child with Angels, Saints, and Sibyl
    Sibyl
    The word Sibyl comes from the Greek word σίβυλλα sibylla, meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend" prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally— at Delphi and...
    
    s, in the church of the Madonna della Fiamenga
  • an ensemble of frescoes in the church of S. Maria in Campis, 2 km (1 mi) from Foligno
  • Madonna and Saints, frescoes in the church of Vescia, 5 km (3 mi) from Foligno

• elsewhere:
  • Oratorio dei Pellegrini in Assisi
    Assisi
    - Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
    
    : the frescoes of the vault, depicting the Doctors of the Church; on the walls, frescoes of St Anthony Abbot blessing the Camels, and of the Miracles of St James
  • Crucifixion (1482) in the convent of S. Damiano near Assisi
  • Madonna Worshipping the Child, with St Francis and St Anthony of Padua, in the church of S. Martino of Trevi
    Trevi
    Trevi is an ancient town and comune in Umbria, Italy, on the lower flank of Monte Serano overlooking the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is 10 km SSE of Foligno and 20 km north of Spoleto....
    
    
  • "St Anthony's Niche", with several frescoes, in the church of S. Francesco of Montefalco
    Montefalco
    Montefalco is a town and comune in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia, on an outcrop of the Colli Martani above the flood plain of the Clitunno river, 7 km SE of Bevagna, 11 km SW of Foligno, and 9 km NW of Trevi.-History:The town has been actively settled since...
    
    
  • Scenes from the life of St Francis, and Two Scenes from the life of St Benedict, in the church of S. Francesco in Narni

Attributed to Mezzastris are:

• St Francis receiving the Stigmata, in the monastery of S. Anna of Foligno
• St Francis receiving the Stigmata, in the church of S. Girolamo of Spello
  Spello
  Spello is an ancient town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the lower southern flank of Mt. Subasio. It is 6 km NNW of Foligno and 10 km SSE of Assisi.The old walled town lies on a regularly NW-SE sloping ridge that eventually meets the plain...
  
  
• Crucifixion (fresco, damaged), in the church of S. Vincenzo of Bevagna
  Bevagna
  Bevagna is a town and comune in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia, , in the flood plain of the Topino river.Bevagna is 25 km SE of Perugia, 8 km west of Foligno, 7 km north-north-west of Montefalco, 16 km south of Assisi and 15 km north-west of Trevi.It...
  
  
• Madonna and Child with Angel (very damaged), in the church of S. Agostino of Montefalco
• Deposition, fresco in the Duomo of Narni
• "St. Roch and the Redeemer" (ca. 1480) " painting in the Church of San Giacomo (Foligno)
  Church of San Giacomo (Foligno)
  The Church of San Giacomo is located at the Piazza San Giacomo, Foligno, Italy.The site on which the church was built in 1402 was originally the site of an old hospice, dedicated to St. James, as attested in a document of Pope Innocent III in 1210. The hospice and its chapel were passed on the...