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Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300 ‒1350

8 March – 22 June 2025

Ground Floor Galleries

Step into Siena. It’s the beginning of the 14th century in central Italy. A golden moment for art, a catalyst of change. Artists Duccio, Simone Martini and the brothers Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti are forging a new way of painting.

They paint with a drama that no one has seen before. Faces show emotion. Bodies move in space. Stories flow across panels in colourful scenes.

We bring to life a vibrant city of artists collaborating, learning and looking. After centuries of separation, we reunite scenes that once formed part of Duccio’s monumental 'Maestà' altarpiece. Panels from Simone Martini’s glittering Orsini polyptych come together for the first time in living memory.

This local artistic phenomenon made waves internationally. Gilded glass, illuminated manuscripts, ivory Madonnas, rugs and silks show Siena’s creative energy spilling over between painters, metalworkers, weavers and carvers across Europe.

With over a hundred exhibits made by artisans working in Siena, Naples, Avignon and beyond, see some of Europe's earliest, most exquisite and most significant artworks.

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Lead Exhibition Sponsor

 

 

Lead Philanthropic Supporter

 

 

 

   

 

 

Gregory Annenberg Weingarten

 

 

Peggy Czyzak-Dannenbaum

 

Laura Lindsay

 

 

With additional support from

 

The Vaseppi Trust

Fabrizio Moretti

Elizabeth and Daniel Peltz OBE

Count and Countess Emilio Voli

Richard Deutsch and Graciela Fairclough

Dr Nicola Coldstream