Siena: The Rise of Painting 

at The National Gallery 

8 March - 22 June 2025 

Ambrogio Lorenzetti is most celebrated for his allegorical depictions of Good and Bad Government in the 'Room of the Nine' in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. One of the most remarkable secular fresco cycles to have survived, they show a wealth of ingenuity and innovation. They are currently undergoing conservation, but of course that won't prevent us from looking at them in considerable detail in this talk - one of the advantages of online presentations! 

The refinement of Ambrogio's fresco technique will be represented in the National Gallery's exhibition by a detached fragment showing A Group of Four Poor Clares from the Gallery's own collection, and his technique in this medium will also be illustrated by a sinopia – an underdrawing for a fresco – showing The Annunciation. However, he wasn't only known for his murals, and, as with the three other featured artists, we will look closely at all of his exhibited works, and put them into the context of his career as a whole.