Collector Jon Landau was greatly inspired by the Met’s “Siena” exhibition
For my wife, Barbara, and I, the best exhibition we saw last year was the one most relevant to our collecting interests: “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350,” which debuted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York before traveling to the National Gallery in London. We saw this painting in New York last fall, where it was a masterpiece on display at the museum under the direction of Stephan Wolohojian, chief curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The quality of the paintings and the level of lending are unprecedented in the United States, and the more than 100 artworks on display – each carefully selected – complement the incredible design, lighting, spatial organization, layout and wall colors. Every aspect is a master class in the art of hosting a first-class museum exhibition.
Inspired by the exhibition celebrating four important Sienese artists – Duccio di Bunicenha, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti and Ambrogio Lorenzetti – I decided to take a refresher course on these artists and their contemporaries, planning a week-long return to Perugia, Assisi, Florence and, of course, Siena. In Perugia and Assisi I revisited the pioneers of the 13th century, such as St. Francis the Master, with his magnificent cross (1272) in Perugia and his memorable frescoes in the lower chapel of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Cimabue’s recently restored spectacular frescoes Madonna enthroned with Child, Saint Francis, Saint Dominic and two angels (c. 1285-88) is just a few steps away. Just a stone’s throw from the splendid Madonna of Cimabue are the extraordinary fresco contributions of Pietro Lorenzetti and Simone Martini. The combined efforts of the Master of San Francesco, Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti and Simone Martini, among many others, have made the Duomo one of Italy’s greatest artistic destinations.
Of course, the Duomo’s upper church is another of Italy’s major artistic attractions, and is just a flight of stairs away. The most eye-catching thing here is the 28 monumental murals about the life of St. Francis, which are divided into three floors and the narrative proceeds from top to bottom. The attribution of this great creation has long been disputed. Ambiguities and inconsistencies in the style of some of the frescoes have raised questions about Giotto’s original attribution.
On this visit, with the help of friends, a small group of us were able to enjoy the night view of the cathedral by candlelight – an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. With the help of the knowledgeable historian who accompanied us, we learned that the existence of the often controversial Giotto was carefully established. The popular view now is that he started out as one of the many artists who created the upper floor frescoes under the possible direction of Cimabue, but it was Giotto who eventually became the greatest contributor to this cycle. When one reaches the lower and most accessible level, it is generally believed that we are looking at an early Giotto. The fact that we can see so clearly the founding of Florentine art in the upper church, and Sienese art in the lower church just a few steps away – almost at the same moment – is one of the most remarkable events in the entire history of art.
The active community of San Francisco friars who live, study, teach, and work at the cathedral invited us to share a communal meal with them at their residence near the Upper Church. It was a moving and unforgettable experience that showed that the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi is still very much alive.
In Florence I saw again the same cross-currents between Sienese and Florentine painting. As usual, the Uffizi showcases Duccio’s nearly 15-foot-tall work Ruthele Madonna (c. 1285), together with the brilliant and comparable works of his Florentine colleagues Giotto and Cimabue, provide us with the clearest snapshot of the interplay between these two great schools of art. However, Siena, the last stop of my trip, brought me the most extraordinary experience.
In the Siena Cathedral and its attached Opera Museum, we can see the role of sculpture in the development of Siena art. Highlights include Donatello’s bronze reliefs (Barbara and I are lucky enough to own two sculptures by this famous artist) and Arnolfo di Cambio’s marble sculptures. (We recently acquired a stone portrait by Arnolfo, dating from the 1290s.) Seeing the sheer volume and detail of their work was another exciting addition to this grand tour.
A few years ago, Barbara and I revisited Siena to see an unforgettable exhibition of the work of Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The survey, which is on display exclusively at the city’s Santa Maria della Scala Museum, is one of the most sensitive displays of religious art we have ever seen. On my return visit, friends arranged for me to climb the scaffolding where his masterpiece was preserved, The Parable of Good Government and Bad Government (1338-39), in progress. Normally the public would view this work from a considerable distance, but this was a rare opportunity to see the extraordinary detail of each figure’s face and body language, although the artist must have known that few would be close enough to appreciate it in such extreme close-up.
The most important revelation comes from observing the large landscape on the far right of the loop The Impact of Good Government on a Country. Seeing it up close and observing every brushstroke is like witnessing the birth of modern landscape painting. Gone are the typical shrub-like trees that grew on rocky hillsides, a common feature of most gold-ground landscapes of the time. Instead, there is a realistic horizon, vivid depictions of various flora and fauna, and depictions of hunters and falconers in their proper perspective on land and sky. The scene is perfectly unified in time and space, majestic in scale and monumental.
Barbara and I collect 19th-century French paintings, as well as Renaissance paintings and sculptures, and our two favorite artists from that period are Courbet and Corot. Returning home from my trip to Italy, I once again surveyed the revolutionary landscape of the 19th century, and I undoubtedly felt a direct line leading me back to the unique and timeless creations of Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Of the four creators of Sienese painting, I believe this landscape may mark Ambrogio as the most extraordinary visionary.
