Siena: The Rise of Painting 

at the National Gallery 

8 March - 22 June 

In the first week of this series we discussed Duccio and his masterpiece, The Maestà. Once in position the painting continued to be revered, to the extent that four altars were erected around it, each dedicated to one of the patron saints of Siena. However, given the overall dedication of the Cathedral – and the city, for that matter – to the Virgin Mary, the main subject matter of each was taken from the Life of the Virgin. Pietro Lorenzetti, the subject of our second talk, was commissioned to paint The Birth of the Virgin, and this painting will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the National Gallery's exhibition. The lines of St Anne’s bedspread all converge to a single point, more than 70 years before Brunelleschi’s development of single vanishing point perspective. That this altarpiece has been loaned by Siena’s cathedral museum is as remarkable as the presence in the exhibition of Pietro’s Pieve Altarpiece from Arezzo: usually works on wooden panel from this date are considered too fragile to travel. 

We will look at both of these paintings in detail, but, given that this is an online lecture rather than an exhibition, we will also be able to explore Pietro's remarkable frescoes in the Lower Church in Assisi, as well as other paintings which really are too fragile to travel to London. 

 Please remember, I do not record my talks.