Description

Icon painted in tempera and pure gold on an ancient table according to the ancient recipes of the Sienese school. Painting by Silvia Salvadori. Icon of San Giorgio and the Dragon, Reproduction of art by Sano di Pietro, Sienese painting, tempera and pure gold on wood. The "Maestro dell'Osservanza", one of the highest and most refined painters of the Sienese fifteenth century, was none other than the young Sano di Pietro, as Cesare Brandi had already said at the time. Painter and miniaturist. N. Siena, 1406 - in. Siena, 1/11/1481 Sano di Pietro was active from 1428 and was formed artistically at Sassetta, without however reaching the lyrical splendor of the master, but was to some extent also influenced by the same age Giovanni di Paolo, still keeping away from the fantastic bizarre of the latter. Sano di Pietro's painting has been overly praised or devalued according to historical periods. Today it must be correctly observed that, if its stylistic development was not always coherent, certainly the artist was able to achieve absolute mastery of the pictorial technique, which allowed him to arrive, with a happy combination of different expressive elements, to his own style well recognizable. On the other hand, Sano di Pietro's ability to reproduce formulas of sure commercial success was perhaps the reason for the unequal value of some of his works. Sano di Pietro was in fact held in high esteem and, receiving a very large number of orders, Sano di Pietro was probably forced to make use of the work of the workers of his very active workshop, or in any case to carry out the works himself in perhaps too short times. It is certain, however, that Sano di Pietro has left us a very large production, overall of a good standard, preserved largely in Siena and in the countryside, and it is also certain that his best works, especially those of exclusive hand, stand out always for a great refinement of design and color, and for a very skilful use of gold. In these works the mild religiosity of Sano di Pietro shines through, however, devoid of unnecessary sentimentality and still pervaded by an austerity throughout the fourteenth century. One of Sano di Pietro's first works was the "Coronation of the Virgin" painted, in about 1440, on the Porta Nuova (today Porta Romana) in Siena. Two panels representing «S. Bernardino preaching in the Campo di Siena »and« Icon San Bernardino preaching in Piazza S. Francesco », preserved in the Chapter Hall of the Cathedral of Siena, and to be considered works of considerable suggestion and of great documentary interest. The first dated work by Sano di Pietro dates back to 1444 and is the large polyptych with the "Madonna and Child" in the center, now preserved in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, and coming from the Church of the Convent of the Gesuati di S. Girolamo in the same city; the work is to be considered a true masterpiece, for the clarity of the design, and for the bright colors, still perfectly preserved. Coming from the same polyptych for the Gesuati are some panels with "Stories of St. Jerome" today at the Louvre in Paris. In 1445-46 Sano di Pietro resumed and completed the large fresco with the "Coronation of the Virgin", started by Domenico di Bartolo, in the Biccherna Room of the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena, one of his most successful and admired creations. The panel with «A miracle of S. Biagio» in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, part of a polyptych made for the Church of S. Biagio in Scrofiano, dates from 1449. Perhaps a little later than 1450, it is a very precious tablet depicting the icon of the Madonna and Child with Angels and Saints »preserved in the Chigi-Saracini Collection in Siena; here it is particularly evident that Sano di Pietro was more at ease in the small and collected paintings, in which, having passed the trade, he reached the highest levels of his art. In this tablet the color is beautifully preserved; in it, in the center there is a very sweet icon of the "Madonna and Child", wrapped in the bright blue of the mantle, in great prominence on the sparkling glow of the gold background. A little later than 1455 is the valuable panel with the icon "Madonna recommending Siena to Pope Callixtus III", coming from the Palazzo Pubblico and currently kept in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, where there is also the table with the "Announcement to the Shepherds », Around 1460. In the same art gallery there are also many other very valid works by Sano di Pietro, including some polyptychs depicting the icon of the "Madonna Enthroned with the Child and Saints". It would then be long to list a myriad of other works preserved in Siena, where Sano di Pietro worked, among other things, also in the Church of San Pietro alle Scale, in the Church of San Bartolomeo in the Contrada of the Istrice, etc. Sano di Pietro also carried out numerous works in the countryside, including a triptych in the Collegiate Church of San Quirico d'Orcia. Remember