'' '' (), showing Uccello's Gothic influences According to
Vasari, Uccello's first painting was a Saint Anthony between the saints Cosmas and Damianus, a commission for the hospital of Lelmo. Next, he painted two figures in the convent of Annalena. Shortly afterwards, he painted three
frescoes with scenes from
the life of Saint Francis above the left door of the church. For the
Santa Maria Maggiore church, he painted a fresco of the
Annunciation. In this fresco, he painted a large building with columns in perspective. According to Vasari, people found this to be a great and beautiful achievement because this was the first example of how lines could be expertly used to demonstrate perspective and size. As a result, this work became a model for artists who wished to craft illusions of space in order to enhance the realness of their paintings. Paolo painted
the Lives of the Church Fathers in the cloisters of the church of
San Miniato, which sat on a hill overlooking Florence. According to Vasari, Paolo protested against the monotonous meals of cheese pies and
cheese soup served by the abbot by running away, and returned to finish the job only after the abbot promised him a more varied diet. Uccello was asked to paint a number of scenes of distempered animals for the house of the Medici. The scene most appreciated by Vasari was his depiction of a fierce lion fighting with a venom-spouting snake. Uccello loved to paint animals and he kept a wide variety of pictures of animals, especially birds, at home. This love for birds is what led to his nickname, Paolo Uccelli (Paul of the birds). By 1424, Paolo was earning his own living as a painter. In that year, he proved his artistic maturity by painting episodes of the now-badly-damaged
Creation and the Fall for the Green Cloister (
Chiostro Verde) of
Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Again, this assignment allowed him to paint a large number of animals in a lively manner. He also succeeded in painting trees in their natural colours. This was a skill that was difficult for many of his predecessors, so Uccello also began to acquire a reputation for painting landscapes. He followed this with
Scenes from the Life of Noah, also for the Green Cloister. These scenes brought him great fame in Florence. In 1425, Uccello travelled to
Venice, where he worked on the mosaics for the façade of
San Marco, which have all since been lost. During this time, he also painted some frescoes in the
Prato Cathedral and
Bologna. Some suggest he visited
Rome with his friend Donatello before returning to Florence in 1431. After he returned, Uccello remained in Florence for most of the rest of his life, executing works for various churches and patrons, most notably the
Duomo. Despite his leave from Florence, interest in Uccello did not diminish. In 1432, the Office of Works asked the Florentine ambassador in Venice to enquire after Uccello's reputation as an artist. In 1436, he was given the commission for the monochromatic fresco of
Sir John Hawkwood. This equestrian monument exemplified his keen interest in
perspective. The
condottiere and his horse are presented as if the fresco was a sculpture seen from below. It is widely thought that he is the author of the frescoes
Stories of the Virgin and
Story of Saint Stephen in the Cappella dell'Assunta, Florence, so he likely visited nearby
Prato sometime between 1435 and 1440. Later, in 1443, he painted the figures on the clock of the Duomo. In that same year and continuing into 1444, he designed a few stained glass windows for the same church. In 1444 he was also at work in
Padua, and he travelled to Padua again in 1445 at Donatello's invitation. Back in Florence in 1446, he painted the
Green Stations of the Cross, again for the cloister of the church Santa Maria Novella. Around 1447–1454 he painted
Scenes of Monastic Life for the church
San Miniato al Monte, Florence. ==
Battle of San Romano paintings==