1.
Simone Martini
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Simone Martini was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a figure in the development of early Italian painting. It is thought that Martini was a pupil of Duccio di Buoninsegna, martinis brother-in-law was the artist Lippo Memmi. Very little documentation of Simones life survives, and many attributions are debated by art historians, Simone was doubtlessly apprenticed from an early age, as would have been the normal practice. Among his first documented works is the Maestà of 1315 in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, a copy of the work, executed shortly thereafter by Lippo Memmi in San Gimignano, testifies to the enduring influence Simones prototypes would have on other artists throughout the 14th century. During this stay, putative pupils were his son Francesco, Gennaro di Cola, francis Petrarch became a friend of Simones while in Avignon, and two of Petrarchs sonnets make reference to a portrait of Laura de Noves that Simone supposedly painted for the poet. A Christ Discovered in the Temple is in the collections of Liverpools Walker Art Gallery, Simone Martini died while in the service of the Papal court at Avignon in 1344. Memmo di Filippuccio Vasari, Giorgio, translation by George Bull, Art of Simone Martini Simone Martini – Gothic Painter
2.
Painting
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Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, Painting is a mode of creative expression, and the forms are numerous. Drawing, gesture, composition, narration, or abstraction, among other aesthetic modes, may serve to manifest the expressive, Paintings can be naturalistic and representational, photographic, abstract, narrative, symbolistic, emotive, or political in nature. A portion of the history of painting in both Eastern and Western art is dominated by motifs and ideas. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action, the term painting is also used outside of art as a common trade among craftsmen and builders. What enables painting is the perception and representation of intensity, every point in space has different intensity, which can be represented in painting by black and white and all the gray shades between. In practice, painters can articulate shapes by juxtaposing surfaces of different intensity, thus, the basic means of painting are distinct from ideological means, such as geometrical figures, various points of view and organization, and symbols. In technical drawing, thickness of line is ideal, demarcating ideal outlines of an object within a perceptual frame different from the one used by painters. Color and tone are the essence of painting as pitch and rhythm are the essence of music, color is highly subjective, but has observable psychological effects, although these can differ from one culture to the next. Black is associated with mourning in the West, but in the East, some painters, theoreticians, writers and scientists, including Goethe, Kandinsky, and Newton, have written their own color theory. Moreover, the use of language is only an abstraction for a color equivalent, the word red, for example, can cover a wide range of variations from the pure red of the visible spectrum of light. There is not a register of different colors in the way that there is agreement on different notes in music. For a painter, color is not simply divided into basic, painters deal practically with pigments, so blue for a painter can be any of the blues, phthalocyanine blue, Prussian blue, indigo, cobalt, ultramarine, and so on. Psychological and symbolical meanings of color are not, strictly speaking, colors only add to the potential, derived context of meanings, and because of this, the perception of a painting is highly subjective. The analogy with music is quite clear—sound in music is analogous to light in painting, shades to dynamics and these elements do not necessarily form a melody of themselves, rather, they can add different contexts to it. Modern artists have extended the practice of painting considerably to include, as one example, collage, some modern painters incorporate different materials such as sand, cement, straw or wood for their texture. Examples of this are the works of Jean Dubuffet and Anselm Kiefer, there is a growing community of artists who use computers to paint color onto a digital canvas using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and many others. These images can be printed onto traditional canvas if required, rhythm is important in painting as it is in music
3.
Siena
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Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena, the historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nations most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008, Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year. Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans when it was inhabited by a called the Saina. A Roman town called Saena Julia was founded at the site in the time of the Emperor Augustus, the first document mentioning it dates from AD70. Some archaeologists assert that Siena was controlled for a period by a Gaulish tribe called the Senones, according to local legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus and thus nephews of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their fathers murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants. Additionally they rode white and black horses, giving rise to the Balzana, some claim the name Siena derives from Senius. Other etymologies derive the name from the Etruscan family name Saina, Siena did not prosper under Roman rule. It was not sited near any major roads and lacked opportunities for trade and its insular status meant that Christianity did not penetrate until the 4th century AD, and it was not until the Lombards invaded Siena and the surrounding territory that it knew prosperity. Siena prospered as a trading post, and the constant streams of pilgrims passing to, the oldest aristocratic families in Siena date their line to the Lombards surrender in 774 to Charlemagne. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the Republic of Siena, the Republic existed for over four hundred years, from the late 11th century until the year 1555. During the golden age of Siena before the Black Death in 1348, in the Italian War of 1551–59, the republic was defeated by the rival Duchy of Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, Siena surrendered to Spain on 17 April 1555, the new Spanish King Felipe II, owing huge sums to the Medici, ceded it to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which it belonged until the unification of Italy in the 19th century. A Republican government of 700 Sienese families in Montalcino resisted until 1559, the picturesque city remains an important cultural centre, especially for humanist disciplines. The city lies at 322 m above sea level, the Siena Cathedral, begun in the 12th century, is a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque-Gothic architecture. Its main façade was completed in 1380, the original plan called for an ambitiously massive basilica, the largest then in the world, with, as was customary, an east-west nave. However, the scarcity of funds, in due to war and plague, truncated the project
4.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
5.
Duccio
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Duccio di Buoninsegna was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. He is considered to be the father of Sienese painting and, along with a few others and he was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Duccio is credited with creating the painting styles of Trecento and the Sienese school, although much is still unconfirmed about Duccio and his life, there is more documentation of him and his life than of other Italian painters of his time. It is known that he was born and died in the city of Siena, other details of his early life and family are as uncertain, as much else in his history. One avenue to reconstructing Duccios biography are the traces of him in archives that list when he ran up debts or incurred fines, some records say he was married with 7 children. The relative abundance of archival mentions has led historians to believe that he had difficulties managing his life, another route to filling in Duccios biography are by analyzing the works that can be attributed to him with certainty. Information can be obtained by analyzing his style, the date and location of the works, due to gaps where Duccios name goes unmentioned in the Sienese records for years at a time, scholars speculate he may have traveled to Paris, Assisi and Rome. Nevertheless, his talents were enough to overshadow his lack of organization as a citizen. In the 14th century Duccio became one of the most favored, where Duccio studied, and with whom, is still a matter of great debate, but by analyzing his style and technique art historians have been able to limit the field. Little is known of his career prior to his first documented commission. In 1278, at the age of 23, he was hired to paint 12 wooden panels to cover government documents for The Nine, although Duccio was active from 1268 to about 1311 only approximately 13 of his works survive today. Furthermore, of Duccios surviving works, only two can be securely dated, Duccios known works are on wood panel, painted in egg tempera and embellished with gold leaf. Different from his contemporaries and artists before him, Duccio was a master of tempera and managed to conquer the medium with delicacy, there is no clear evidence that Duccio painted frescoes. Duccio’s style was similar to Byzantine art in ways, with its gold backgrounds and familiar religious scenes, however it was also different. Duccio began to break down the lines of Byzantine art. He used modeling to reveal the figures underneath the heavy drapery, hands, faces, duccio’s paintings are inviting and warm with color. His pieces consisted of many details and were sometimes inlaid with jewels or ornamental fabrics. Duccio was also noted for his organization of space
6.
Byzantine art
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Byzantine art is the name for the artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. A number of states contemporary with the Byzantine Empire were culturally influenced by it, after the fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453, art produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire was often called post-Byzantine. Byzantine art never lost sight of this classical heritage, the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, was adorned with a large number of classical sculptures, although they eventually became an object of some puzzlement for its inhabitants. And indeed, the art produced during the Byzantine Empire, although marked by periodic revivals of an aesthetic, was above all marked by the development of a new aesthetic. The most salient feature of new aesthetic was its abstract. The nature and causes of this transformation, which took place during late antiquity, have been a subject of scholarly debate for centuries. Giorgio Vasari attributed it to a decline in skills and standards. Although this point of view has been revived, most notably by Bernard Berenson. Alois Riegl and Josef Strzygowski, writing in the early 20th century, were all responsible for the revaluation of late antique art. Riegl saw it as a development of pre-existing tendencies in Roman art. In any case, the debate is purely modern, it is clear that most Byzantine viewers did not consider their art to be abstract or unnaturalistic, religious art was not, however, limited to the monumental decoration of church interiors. One of the most important genres of Byzantine art was the icon, an image of Christ, the illumination of manuscripts was another major genre of Byzantine art. The most commonly illustrated texts were religious, both scripture itself and devotional or theological texts, secular texts were also illuminated, important examples include the Alexander Romance and the history of John Skylitzes. Small ivories were also mostly in relief, Byzantine ceramics were relatively crude, as pottery was never used at the tables of the rich, who ate off silver. Two events were of importance to the development of a unique. First, the Edict of Milan, issued by the emperors Constantine I and Licinius in 313, allowed for public Christian worship, second, the dedication of Constantinople in 330 created a great new artistic centre for the eastern half of the Empire, and a specifically Christian one. Major Constantinopolitan churches built under Constantine and his son, Constantius II, included the foundations of Hagia Sophia. The next major building campaign in Constantinople was sponsored by Theodosius I, the most important surviving monument of this period is the obelisk and base erected by Theodosius in the Hippodrome
7.
Pietro Lorenzetti
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Pietro Lorenzetti was an Italian painter, active between c.1306 and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio, he introduced naturalism into Sienese art, in their artistry and experiments with three-dimensional and spatial arrangements, the brothers foreshadowed the art of the Renaissance. That the men were brothers was unknown to Vasari because he misread Pietros surname on a painting in Pistoias church of San Francesco as Laurati, thus the kinship between the artists was missed. Pietro worked in Assisi, Florence, Pistoia, Cortona, and Siena and his work suggests the influence of Duccio, Giotto, and Giovanni Pisano. According to Vasari, it was Pietros frescoes that adorned the facade of Sienas Ospedale della Scala that first bought him to the attention of his contemporaries. Unfortunately, the frescoes – now believed to be the work of both Lorenzetti brothers – were destroyed in 1720 and subsequently whitewashed over, many of his religious works may still be seen in churches and museums in the Tuscan towns of Arezzo, Assisi, and Siena. Although Lorenzettis integration of frame and painted architecture in the Nativity of the Virgin is usually thought to be unique, it is evident in the frescoes of Assisi some decades earlier. One probable conclusion can be made that he did not read Latin as there was documentation of a translator being paid in association with his work on The Birth of the Virgin. The narrative influence of Giottos frescoes in the Bardi and Peruzzi Chapels in Santa Croce, Sienese iconography, generally more mystical and fantastic than that of the more naturalistic Florentines, sometimes resembles a modern surrealist landscape. The gilded three-story altarpiece, the Arezzo Polyptych, was commissioned in 1320 by bishop Guido Tarlati for the Santa Maria della Pieve in Arezzo. At its centre is the Madonna and child, flanked by John the Evangelist, John the Baptist, Saint Matthew, the rich colours, graceful lines, decorative detail, and supple figures, endow the piece with a vivacity rare in contemporary Sienese art. The polyptych is Lorenzettis first dated work and one of four with verifiable documentation including the Carmelite Altarpiece, the Uffizi Madonna. “The dating has allowed scholars to identify with precision a specific stage of the painters activity, perhaps Lorenzettis most ambitious work is the Passion fresco cycle in the left transept of the Lower Church of San Francesco in Assisi. The conditions for the execution of the frescoes would have been difficult as very little natural light would be available and the lower church would be near darkness. The exact time line of the frescoes is in question, some believed the cycle was painted in sections over several years as the style had some similarities to Lorenzettis Carmelite Altarpiece. The reasons are varied, from painting only in the dry season to the skirmishes in the area at the time. The more recent technical and stylistic evidence presented by Maginnis poses strong arguments that Lorenzettis Passion Cycle was completed in one campaign between the years 1316 or 1317 and 1319. Believed to be one of his earliest works is the Madonna and Child with Saint Francis and John the Baptist, according to Maginnis the “finest and most complete realization of the ambition to conjoin real and painted space was left to Pietro Lorenzetti, working in the left transept
8.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti
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Ambrogio Lorenzetti was an Italian painter of the Sienese school. He was active from approximately 1317 to 1348 and he painted The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the Sala dei Nove in the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena. His elder brother was the painter Pietro Lorenzetti, Lorenzetti was highly influenced by both Byzantine art and classical art forms, and used these to create a unique and individualistic style of painting. Individuality at this time was due to the influence of patronage on art. Because paintings were commissioned, individualism in art was infrequently seen. His body of work shows the innovativeness that subsequent artists chose to emulate. His work, although more naturalistic, shows the influence of Simone Martini, the earliest dated work of the Sienese painter is a Madonna and Child. His presence was documented in Florence up until 1321 and he would return there after spending a number of years in Siena. Later he painted The Allegory of Good and Bad Government, the frescoes on the walls of the Room of the Nine or Room of Peace in the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena are one of the masterworks of early Renaissance secular painting. The nine was the assembly of guild and monetary interests that governed the republic. Three walls are painted with frescoes consisting of an assembly of allegorical figures of virtues in the Allegory of Good Government. In the other two facing panels, Ambrogio weaves panoramic visions of Effects of Good Government on Town and Country, the better preserved well-governed town and country is an unrivaled pictorial encyclopedia of incidents in a peaceful medieval borgo and countryside. The first evidence of the existence of the hourglass can be found in the fresco, Allegory of Bad Government and Its Effects on Town, like his brother, he is believed to have died of bubonic plague in 1348. Giorgio Vasari includes a biography of Lorenzetti in his Lives, annunciation,1344 Lorenzettis final piece, telling the story of the Virgin Mary receiving the news from the Angel about the coming of baby Jesus, contains the first use of clear linear perspective. Though it is not perfect, and the background that is traditional for the time renders a flat feeling. Madonna and Child,1319 In Madonna and Child, there is a debt to Byzantine art. The image of the Madonna is noted for its frontality, which is a characteristic of Byzantine art. The Madonna faces the viewer, as the Child gazes up at her, though not as emotionally intense as subsequent Madonnas, in Lorenzetti’s Madonna and Child, the Virgin Mary belies a subtle level of emotion as she confronts the viewer
9.
Taddeo di Bartolo
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Taddeo di Bartolo, also known as Taddeo Bartoli, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School during the early Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasaris biographies of artists or Vite, vasari claims he is the uncle of Domenico di Bartolo. Taddeo di Bartolo was born in Siena, the exact year of Taddeo di Bartolos birth is unknown, but it’s been suspected to be between 1363-65. Around 1389 he entered the Sienese Guild of artists, where he mastered the art of painting among his Sienese colleagues, in 1389 Taddeo traveled to Collegarli, the San Miniato al Tedesco hills, and Pisa. The painting of The Virgin and Child Enthroned, signed and dated in 1390, in 1393, Taddeo traveled to San Gimignano, where he executed the altarpiece of the Virgin and Child and Saints for the Sardi and Campigli Chapel in San Francesco. The Virgin and Child With Saints showcases Taddeo’s earlier style, the thin, elegant figures, and flowing lines of the drapery patterns reflect influence from his Sienese predecessors, such as Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. From 1400-01, Taddeo worked at the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena where he created twelve small panels, of only nine exist today. These panels give reverence to Taddeo’s craftsmanship in smaller scale work, around 1401, Taddeo painted the celebrated altarpiece, Assumption of the Virgin and scenes from the Passion, in Montepulciano. The intention of this piece was for religious and devotional functions, Taddeo worked to accommodate the established conventions of altarpiece painting, while simultaneously stylizing the pieces to fit their respective site. In 1403, Taddeo was working in Perugia producing two works, now on display in their public gallery, the Virgin and Child with two Angels and St Bernard and Descent of the Holy Ghost. These two works showcase Taddeo’s superior talents, exhibiting delicate coloring and vast human expression, though, in 1406, Taddeo was commissioned to destroy all the paintings in the chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico, and repaint the inside. Many of these represent the Life of the Madonna, including the Death of the Virgin in which Jesus descends, takes her hand. In 1422 Taddeo di Bartolo died in Siena, much of his early work was in Pisa, where he was responsible for the frescoes of Paradise and Hell in the Cathedral there, and for paintings in the Palazzo Pubblico and the church of San Francesco. At the Collegiata di San Gimignano, Taddeo painted a fresco depicting The Last Judgment, the Museo Civico of San Gimignano, displays a painting by Taddeo depicting Saint Gimignano holding the town in his lap. A triptych of the Virgin and Child with St John the Baptist and St Andrew, a massive triptych, Assumption of the Virgin, painted in 1401, is displayed in the 16th-century Duomo of Santa Maria dellAssunta at Montepulciano. Taddeos Madonna with Child, Four Angels and Saint John the Baptist and Saint Andrew may be seen in the Oratory of the Company of Saint Catherine of the Night at Santa Maria della Scala, Siena. He also painted allegories and figures from Roman history, and the Funeral of the Virgin at the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena and his St Elizabeth of Hungry is on display in the Perkins Collection of the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi. A Madonna and Child, painted with tempera and oil on a panel, is located in the Wadsworth Atheneum
10.
Stefano di Giovanni
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While working within the Sienese tradition, he innovated the style by introducing elements derived from the decorative Gothic style and the realism of contemporary Florentine innovators as Masaccio. The name Sassetta has been associated with him, mistakenly, only since the 18th century but is now used for this artist. The date and birthplace of Sassetta are not known, some say he was born in Siena although there is also an hypothesis that he was born in Cortona. His father, Giovanni, is called da Cartona which possibly means that Cortona was the artists birthplace, the meaning of his nickname Sassetta is obscure and is not cited in documents of his time but appears in sources from the eighteenth century. Sassetta was probably trained alongside artists like Benedetto di Bindo and Gregorio di Cecco and he achieved a high level of technical refinement and was aware of artistic innovations of talented painters in Florence such as Gentile da Fabriano and Masolino. His work differs from the late Gothic style of many of his Sienese contemporaries and his first certain work, which originally had his signature is the Arte della Lana altarpiece, fragments of which are now divided among various private and public collections. The Madonna of the Snow altarpiece for the Siena Cathedral was a commission for Sassetta. Not only does he excel at infusing his figures with a light that convincingly molds their shape, he also has an amazing handle on spatial relationships. From this point on, under Gothic influence, Sassetta’s style increases its decorative nature, the polyptych done by Sassetta in San Domenico at Cortona shows scenes from the legend of St. Anthony the Abbot. He shows great skill in narration through his painting as well as combining a sophisticated color palette, Francesco di Giorgio e di Lorenzo, better known as Vecchietta, is said to have been his apprentice. He died by pneumonia contracted while decorating the Assumption fresco in the Porta Romana of Siena, the work was finished by his pupil Sano di Pietro. Many consider Sassettas fusing of traditional and contemporary elements as integral to the move from the Gothic to the Renaissance style of painting in Siena, Sassetta was a fiercely pious man. The painting is about the marriage of righteousness and violence and the consequences of sinfulness, the perils of feigning faith, the figure in black in the painting is an unbeliever, who has been found out in the process of receiving Communion. The officiating priest offers him the host on a plate, which is pictured miraculously spurting blood, the unbeliever has been struck dead instantly, and the creature above his face is a tiny black devil which has swooped down to snatch away his soul to the depths of Hell. The other men pictured are Carmelite monks, caught in expressions of shock, amazement, the painting is a carefully staged, meticulously created illusion which commemorates the Miracle of Bolsena which is said to have taken place in 1263. Sassettas Altarpiece of the Eucharist was later divided between three museums, the Vatican, and a private collection, the altarpiece was originally painted in Siena, and transported to Sansepolcro for placement in the church of San Francesco. In October 1900 the Berenson family purchased three panels created by Stefano di Giovanni and it is generally accepted by the art historical community that Sassetta’s San Francesco altarpiece was one of the largest and most expensive of the Quattrocento. The fact that it was produced by a Sienese artist in Siena, bernard Berenson bequeathed many of Sassettas painting from his Florence Villa to Harvard University, in what became the Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence
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