Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350

Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350 explores a transformative chapter at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance, spotlighting Siena as a thriving center of artistic innovation that helped shape the course of Western painting. Featuring masterpieces by Duccio, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, and their contemporaries, the exhibition reveals how Sienese artists pioneered new approaches to narrative, emotion, and pictorial space in the decades before the devastating plague of 1350. Drawing from the renowned collections of The Met and the National Gallery, London—along with rare loans from major institutions worldwide—the presentation brings together over 100 works, including paintings, sculptures, metalwork, and textiles. From monumental public commissions to intimate devotional pieces, these artworks illuminate Siena’s profound influence on artistic style and theory long after its golden age came to an end.