Renaissance Siena: Art for a City

The talk reveals how Siena - a city familar to many as centre fo the "gothic" - was also a major artistic centre during the Renaissance. Through the patronage of papal families such as the Piccolomini and wealthy bankers such as the Spannocchi and Chigi, the city was transformed over the course of a century, retaining a distinctive style that looked back to both the recent past and to aledged Roman origins. Local artists, such as Jacopo della Quercia and Francesco di Giorgio Martini, as well as famous "imports" like Donatello or Pinturicchio renewed the city and its major monuments. The talk is based on research Professor Nevola did for his 2007 monograph and an exhibition he contributed to at the National Gallery, London the same year.

Fabrizio Nevola is Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter. His first book, Siena: Constructing the Renaissance City (Yale University Press,…