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This, quite simply, is a stunning exhibition. It asserts that the first half of the fourteenth century is when painting came into its own: when it first managed to depict human beings with verisimilitude; when it was first able to convey emotional truth; when it first depicted with some accuracy three-dimensional objects and structures. Indeed, it was the first time that artists signed their work, and here are some of the earliest artists that we know by name. It was now that painting, as an art form, first became something to be commissioned and acquired. As one would expect the vast majority of works in the show have a strong religious theme.
Given that these pieces pre-date the Florentine Renaissance by one to two hundred years, they are remarkable. They are characterised by great assurance and technical skill and are often, at the same time, innovative and emotionally powerful. The exhibition is built around four Sienese artists: Duccio di Buoninsegna (active 1278, died 1319), Simone Martini (1284-1344), Pietro Lorenzetti (active possibly 1306; died probably 1348) and his brother Ambrogio Lorenzetti (active 1319; died 1348 or 49). Chronologically Duccio is the leader of the group and the other three filled the void left by his death.
Of inestimable value is that different panels from altarpieces, triptychs and polyptychs which had previously been dismantled and dispersed are now brought together and seen as they should be. For example, Duccio’s huge Maestà, painted for the cathedral and at the time the biggest altarpiece in Europe (and the first major double-sided altarpiece in Western painting), was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century. Not all, but a good few of the panels are collected together again here.
True, we are not yet at the stage where artists had mastered perspective, but the attention to detail can be remarkable. In another piece whose component parts were dispersed, Simone Martini’s five-panel Altarpiece for the Palazzo Pubblico, we see hair, fabric, tiny fingers and toes, all depicted with accuracy and skill. In the central panel of five Mary cuddles the infant Jesus. Flanking her are saints, serious but with well-rendered expressions of compassion. The five panels were disassembled in 1686.
Simone Martini, Palazzo Pubblico Altarpiece. About 1326. Robert Lehman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Robert Lehman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, European Paintings Metropolitan Museum of Art J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Despite the name, the exhibition also features three-dimensional pieces such as sculptures, croziers and reliquaries created from marble, ivory, terracotta, walnut, gold, enamel and parchment, and textile pieces from wool and silk. There is a stunning chalice made from gilded silver with translucent enamel from about 1320 and next to that, an equally beautiful incense boat, depicting the Annunciation on its surface, from about 1350-75.
Tondino di Guerrino and Andrea Riguardi. Detail of the base of a Chalice, about 1320. Gilded silver with translucent and champlevé enamel. The British Museum.
Why Siena? At the time it was a major city which rivalled Florence in importance. It was a centre for banking, commerce, trade (in particular of wool) and art, and during this period great buildings such as the Cathedral and the Palazzo Pubblico were commissioned. It was situated on a major trading route and tens of thousands of pilgrims from the north of Europe would pass through Siena on their way to Rome.
Many of the pieces have gold as a principal component of the work. In all likelihood it had come from Africa, was beaten to be ultra-thin gold leaf, cut into small square shapes, and then stuck to the base panel of the picture. Look very closely and you might just see the joins. In Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s The Annunciation (1344 – painted for Siena’s tax office), note how the angel Gabriel’s announcement, “Nothing is impossible with God,” and Mary’s response, extend into the picture from their lips and are each worked, as is the central column, in thicker gold.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, The Annunciation, (detail) 1344. Tempera on panel. Pinacoteca nazionale di Siena.
Huge credit must go to the curators who have brought these priceless pieces together from all over the world. For instance the two diptychs by Duccio in the first room: The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea, and Patriarchs and Prophets, (about 1312-15) from the National Gallery, and The Crucifixion; The Redeemer with Angels; Saint Nicholas; Saint Clement, (1311-18) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. They were probably conceived as a pair for an individual patron and have matching decorations on their exterior wings. Having been parted for centuries, here they are together again, side by side.
From about 1350 Siena declined rapidly having suffered terribly from the Black Death, but the artistic advances which it had spawned fanned out quickly to the rest of Europe and have had an immeasurable and lasting influence.
The works on show in this large, well organised, well-lit exhibition are by artists most of us will not be familiar with. Nonetheless, the riches to be seen are staggering.
Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350.
National Gallery, 8th March to 22nd June, 2025.
This, quite simply, is a stunning exhibition. It asserts that the first half of the fourteenth century is when painting came into its own: when it first managed to depict human beings with verisimilitude; when it was first able to convey emotional truth; when it first depicted with some accuracy three-dimensional objects and structures. Indeed, it was the first time that artists signed their work, and here are some of the earliest artists that we know by name. It was now that painting, as an art form, first became something to be commissioned and acquired. As one would expect the vast majority of works in the show have a strong religious theme.
Given that these pieces pre-date the Florentine Renaissance by one to two hundred years, they are remarkable. They are characterised by great assurance and technical skill and are often, at the same time, innovative and emotionally powerful. The exhibition is built around four Sienese artists: Duccio di Buoninsegna (active 1278, died 1319), Simone Martini (1284-1344), Pietro Lorenzetti (active possibly 1306; died probably 1348) and his brother Ambrogio Lorenzetti (active 1319; died 1348 or 49). Chronologically Duccio is the leader of the group and the other three filled the void left by his death.
Of inestimable value is that different panels from altarpieces, triptychs and polyptychs which had previously been dismantled and dispersed are now brought together and seen as they should be. For example, Duccio’s huge Maestà, painted for the cathedral and at the time the biggest altarpiece in Europe (and the first major double-sided altarpiece in Western painting), was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century. Not all, but a good few of the panels are collected together again here.
True, we are not yet at the stage where artists had mastered perspective, but the attention to detail can be remarkable. In another piece whose component parts were dispersed, Simone Martini’s five-panel Altarpiece for the Palazzo Pubblico, we see hair, fabric, tiny fingers and toes, all depicted with accuracy and skill. In the central panel of five Mary cuddles the infant Jesus. Flanking her are saints, serious but with well-rendered expressions of compassion. The five panels were disassembled in 1686.
Despite the name, the exhibition also features three-dimensional pieces such as sculptures, croziers and reliquaries created from marble, ivory, terracotta, walnut, gold, enamel and parchment, and textile pieces from wool and silk. There is a stunning chalice made from gilded silver with translucent enamel from about 1320 and next to that, an equally beautiful incense boat, depicting the Annunciation on its surface, from about 1350-75.
Why Siena? At the time it was a major city which rivalled Florence in importance. It was a centre for banking, commerce, trade (in particular of wool) and art, and during this period great buildings such as the Cathedral and the Palazzo Pubblico were commissioned. It was situated on a major trading route and tens of thousands of pilgrims from the north of Europe would pass through Siena on their way to Rome.
Many of the pieces have gold as a principal component of the work. In all likelihood it had come from Africa, was beaten to be ultra-thin gold leaf, cut into small square shapes, and then stuck to the base panel of the picture. Look very closely and you might just see the joins. In Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s The Annunciation (1344 – painted for Siena’s tax office), note how the angel Gabriel’s announcement, “Nothing is impossible with God,” and Mary’s response, extend into the picture from their lips and are each worked, as is the central column, in thicker gold.
Huge credit must go to the curators who have brought these priceless pieces together from all over the world. For instance the two diptychs by Duccio in the first room: The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea, and Patriarchs and Prophets, (about 1312-15) from the National Gallery, and The Crucifixion; The Redeemer with Angels; Saint Nicholas; Saint Clement, (1311-18) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. They were probably conceived as a pair for an individual patron and have matching decorations on their exterior wings. Having been parted for centuries, here they are together again, side by side.
From about 1350 Siena declined rapidly having suffered terribly from the Black Death, but the artistic advances which it had spawned fanned out quickly to the rest of Europe and have had an immeasurable and lasting influence.
The works on show in this large, well organised, well-lit exhibition are by artists most of us will not be familiar with. Nonetheless, the riches to be seen are staggering.
© Graham Buchan 2025.
By Graham Buchan • art, exhibitions, painting, sculpture, year 2025 • Tags: art, exhibitions, Graham Buchan, painting, sculpture