"Ave, gratia plena": The greatest masterwork of the Sienese Trecento?

What's that, you ask?

I think it’s time to revisit 14th century Siena.

We’re going to be talking - a LOT - soon about the Gothic. I’ve been working on a pretty big multi-part thing. There’s a lot to unpack in this ~400 years of architecture, sculpture, metal and enamel work, manuscript miniatures and panel paintings.

It’s deep, and some surprising things pop out of it.

But before diving down our Gothic rabbit hole, I thought it would be fun to prepare a bit by taking a close look at one of the greatest works of the Italian “Gothic” - the Sienese Trecento - to develop a greater appreciation not only of this incredible object, but of the complexities of nailing down styles and genres in such a profoundly interconnected time and place as Medieval Europe.

The Annunciation and Two Saints. Simone Martini and his brother-in-law Lippo Memmi. 1333. Currently held by the Uffizi. For reasons having to do with the Uffizi’s stupid rules and bad lighting and the brilliance of the gold leaf messing with cameras, it’s really difficult to get a good photo of it, and the colours are often lost in photos. So we’re going to take it in bits.

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Today’s featured drawing is “Christus Patiens”. Graphite on paper. You can order a high quality art print of it and other items at my shop.

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