Author Description

For almost 500 years, from the late Middle Ages into the 17th century, the Italian city of Siena was a thriving center of trade, learning, and fine art. This magnificently illustrated book is the first to celebrate Siena's influential and impressive artistic heritage.Informative essays are illuminated by a wealth of exquisite color reproductions, including numerous specially photographed color details and two dazzling foldouts. The book begins with the emergence of the distinctive Sienese style in the mid-1200s -- emphasizing brilliant color, elaborate pattern, and elegant goldwork -- and spans the refined work of the late Baroque period.Illustrated and discussed are the paintings, frescoes, altarpieces, and other works of such early Sienese masters as Duccio di Buoninsegna, Simone Martini, and the gifted brothers Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti. Featured too are Sienese artists working in the Renaissance, Mannerist, and Baroque styles, among them Sassetta, Domenico Beccafumi. Francesco Vanni, and Ventura Salimbeni, to name but a few.