Painter, born Florence, Italy, c.1240;died there, c.1302,probably. He was reputed to be the founder of Italian painting by Vasari, who gave biographical data now known to be unreliable. Through Dante's tribute in the "Purgatorio" his name was associated with Giotto's and he became the legendary teacher of the latter. The "Madonna of the Rucellai," in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, long attributed to him, is now known to be the work of the Sienese Duccio di Buoninsegna. The only authentic example of his work is the mosaic of "John the Baptist" in the apse of the Pisa cathedral. A fresco of the "Madonna and Child with Saint Francis," in the lower church at Assisi, is ascribed to him.