Medieval History
In Siena's Pinocateca Nazionale museum, four chairs have been placed in a row in front of Simone Martini's Altarpiece of Blessed Agostino Novello (c. 1328). Presumably, this is to give viewers in what is perhaps the best art-museum bargain in Europe?five euros ($6) for a gander in relative solitude at a trove of great Sienese art?a chance to relax and really ponder what is, in my opinion, the museum's masterpiece.
Martini (b. 1284) was one of the most prominent figures in the "Siena school" of painting which, according to conventional art history, was less connected to the beginning of the Italian Renaissance and more an early part of something called "International Gothic"?which began in the 14th century and ended early in the 15th century?and was inferior to the rational, perspectival realism (what we generally refer to as "naturalism") of the larger, neighboring city of Florence. Sienese painting waxed mystical, went in for out-of-proportion figures in physically jumbled (but narratively quite coherent) spaces, and specialized in crisp juxtapositions of colors often so subtle that it's hard to find names for them.
In 1315, Martini completed a huge fresco of the Maestà (the Virgin and Jesus being admired by all the saints) in the Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall of Siena's experiment in democratic government that lasted about 70 years before the Black Death killed more than half the city's population in 1348. After finishing his fresco, Martini went off to Naples and didn't return to Siena for a decade. When he did, the city had grown precipitously to a population of 50,000 (it's all of 54,000 today), and the Augustinian order of monks was ready to commission an altarpiece for its beloved future saint, Agostino Novello.
Click here to read this article from the Wall Street Journal
- 14th Century Church Fresco Uncovered In Budapest
A Hungarian priest, Zoltán Osztie, and archaeologist Imre Bodor presented a rediscovered medieval fresco to the media on Thursday. The fresco, which portrays the infant Jesus and the Virgin Mary, was uncovered on a sanctum wall behind the main altar...
- Collected Studies Of András Péter Published
Last December marked the 70th anniversary of the death of art historian András Péter. He was a noted scholar of Italian Trecento painting, as well as of Hungarian medieval art. Born in 1903, he studied in Budapest and defended his doctorate in 1925....
- Italian Trecento Panel Discovered In Hungary
A previously unknown Italian Trecento panel painting went on display today at the Damjanich János Múzeum at Szolnok. The exhibition was opened by Mária Prokopp, Professor Emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University, a noted expert of early Italian painting....
- First Publications On The Murals Of The Parish Church Of Pest
The 14th century fresco of the Virgin of Child, discovered last year in the sanctuary of the Inner City Parish Church of Pest (in downtown Budapest) created quite a stir. I suppose it always creates some stir when a a fresco appears older than the wall...
- Hungarian Azurite
When the previously unknown fresco of the Virgin and Child was uncovered in the Inner City parish church of (Buda)Pest, the restorer and art historians alike were struck by the excellent preservation of large patches of azurite blue. The cloak of the...
Medieval History
Future Saint as Medieval Superhero
In Siena's Pinocateca Nazionale museum, four chairs have been placed in a row in front of Simone Martini's Altarpiece of Blessed Agostino Novello (c. 1328). Presumably, this is to give viewers in what is perhaps the best art-museum bargain in Europe?five euros ($6) for a gander in relative solitude at a trove of great Sienese art?a chance to relax and really ponder what is, in my opinion, the museum's masterpiece.
Martini (b. 1284) was one of the most prominent figures in the "Siena school" of painting which, according to conventional art history, was less connected to the beginning of the Italian Renaissance and more an early part of something called "International Gothic"?which began in the 14th century and ended early in the 15th century?and was inferior to the rational, perspectival realism (what we generally refer to as "naturalism") of the larger, neighboring city of Florence. Sienese painting waxed mystical, went in for out-of-proportion figures in physically jumbled (but narratively quite coherent) spaces, and specialized in crisp juxtapositions of colors often so subtle that it's hard to find names for them.
In 1315, Martini completed a huge fresco of the Maestà (the Virgin and Jesus being admired by all the saints) in the Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall of Siena's experiment in democratic government that lasted about 70 years before the Black Death killed more than half the city's population in 1348. After finishing his fresco, Martini went off to Naples and didn't return to Siena for a decade. When he did, the city had grown precipitously to a population of 50,000 (it's all of 54,000 today), and the Augustinian order of monks was ready to commission an altarpiece for its beloved future saint, Agostino Novello.
Click here to read this article from the Wall Street Journal
- 14th Century Church Fresco Uncovered In Budapest
A Hungarian priest, Zoltán Osztie, and archaeologist Imre Bodor presented a rediscovered medieval fresco to the media on Thursday. The fresco, which portrays the infant Jesus and the Virgin Mary, was uncovered on a sanctum wall behind the main altar...
- Collected Studies Of András Péter Published
Last December marked the 70th anniversary of the death of art historian András Péter. He was a noted scholar of Italian Trecento painting, as well as of Hungarian medieval art. Born in 1903, he studied in Budapest and defended his doctorate in 1925....
- Italian Trecento Panel Discovered In Hungary
A previously unknown Italian Trecento panel painting went on display today at the Damjanich János Múzeum at Szolnok. The exhibition was opened by Mária Prokopp, Professor Emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University, a noted expert of early Italian painting....
- First Publications On The Murals Of The Parish Church Of Pest
The 14th century fresco of the Virgin of Child, discovered last year in the sanctuary of the Inner City Parish Church of Pest (in downtown Budapest) created quite a stir. I suppose it always creates some stir when a a fresco appears older than the wall...
- Hungarian Azurite
When the previously unknown fresco of the Virgin and Child was uncovered in the Inner City parish church of (Buda)Pest, the restorer and art historians alike were struck by the excellent preservation of large patches of azurite blue. The cloak of the...