Taddeo di Bartolo: Siena's Painter in the Early Quattrocento

Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1362-1422), the leading painter in Siena around 1400, is at the centre of the cultural history of a great Italian school at a time that has been little studied. His patrons commissioned major cycles of frescoes and the most impressive polyptychs of the period. Ten years of itinerancy took him to various centres in Tuscany, along the Ligurian coast, from Genoa to Provence, probably as far as Padua, and in Umbria.  Around 1399, he resettled in Siena and quickly became the town's favourite painter. His mural painting cycles left their mark on Siena's civic iconography more than he was recognised for, while his studio produced remarkable panel paintings for, among others, the most dynamic religious orders. Until his last years, he received major commissions in Siena and beyond.

This richly illustrated book follows Taddeo de Bartolo from his formative years in Siena to his travels through central and northern Italy. Through his works, including rediscovered and reconstructed paintings, it chronicles a tireless and successful career in the late Middle Ages and places the painter, his colleagues and his patrons in their political, economic and social context.