The current exhibition at the National Gallery in London “Renaissance Siena: Art for a City” presents many unfamiliar delights to the eye. Along with the occasional massive altarpiece, the multifarious work of Francesco di Giorgio Martini in drawing, painting, sculpture and architecture, the reuniting of sequences of heroic figures from distant museum collections and the final room with its sequence of works by Domenico Beccafumi, a vivid image of an urbane culture is presented. Needless to say, as in this example from the National Gallery’s own collection, Beccafumi’s “The story of Papirius”, many of the items are set against or within ideal cityscapes which contrast with the softness of that artist’ use of line. Marvelous, awe-inspiring, life-affirming.
National Gallery Siena Exhibition
The exhibition closes on January 13 2008