Simone dei Crocifissi was born in
Bologna. He was son of the shoemaker Filippo di Benvenuto. In the 17th century he was renamed "of the Crucifixes" (dei Crocifissi) for his "ability to paint great images of the Redeemer, for our sake nailed to the cross" (Malvasia). He trained with
Franco Bolognese. He was active as a painter at Bologna from 1354 to 1399 in the wake of
Vitale da Bologna's previous experience, which he engaged in a robustly more popular style of painting. '' The initial artistic phase of Simone Di Fillipo can be seen via the frescoes of the life of Christ that come from the church of Santa Maria di Mezzaratta (mid-1350s century), now preserved in the
National Art Gallery of Bologna (Pinacoteca di Bologna), where the interest for
Giotto's space and plastic solutions is interpreted with a sharp expressivity. The influence on Simone of Vitale's painting style can be caught in works such as the polyptych 474, also preserved at the Pinacoteca. On the other hand, works like the
Pietà by (1368), and the
Crucifix of St. James (1370), on display in the same museum, highlight the influence of
Jacopo Avanzi and his solemn style, even if re-interpreted stressing the devotional goal, as in the
Madonna by
Giovanni da Piacenza (1382). These are the characteristics that enabled Simone dei Crocifisso to reach a leading position in Bologna soon afterwards, gaining pre-eminence as the author of wooden altarpieces for local churches and for individual customers such as
Nativity. ==Further reading==