Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350

The Modern Art Notes Podcast

Episode No. 678 features curator Stephan Wolohojian.

Along with Laura Llewellyn, Caroline Campbell and Joanna Cannon, Wolohojian is the curator of "Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The exhibition examines the role of Sienese artists such as Duccio, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Simone Martini in the dawn of the Italian Renaissance and before the onset of the plague in around 1350. While Florence is typically considered the most important city of the Italian Renaissance, "Siena" argues for a broadening of our understanding of the dawn of a new era. "Siena" is on view through January 26, 2025. The excellent exhibition catalogue was published by the National Gallery, London. Amazon and Bookshop offer it for about $45.

Some of the works referenced on the program are most easily seen via websites that aggregate multiple paintings into single pages, including:

• Ambrogia Lorenzetti, The Allegory of Good and Bad Government, 1838-39, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena.
• Duccio, Maestà, 1311, Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana del Duomo, Siena.
• Ugolino di Nerio, Santa Croce altarpiece, 1325-28.