Video: Duccio's Siena: Sacred Beauty and Private Devotion to Mary

In this new video for May, the month of Our Lady, Father Patrick van der Vorst of @Christian Art visits the landmark exhibition Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350 at the National Gallery, exploring a pivotal moment in the 14th century when the Italian city of Siena became the epicentre of a new artistic movement. The exhibition hosts a wide variety of sacred paintings, triptychs and sculpture that illustrate the refinement and innovation of Sienese art.

In the first room, Fr Patrick introduces a defining theme of the period: the emergence of personal devotional objects. For the first time, triptychs, panels and sculptures were being created not solely for churches or monasteries, but for a growing lay audience-middle-class individuals and families who desired beautiful religious items for their homes and private chapels.

Situated on the pilgrim road to Rome, Siena welcomed a steady stream of travellers from Northern Europe. Their devotional objects and artistic traditions-often carved in ivory and designed as hinged, portable pieces-inspired Sienese artists to develop a new wave of religious art, blending the visual language of orthodox triptychs with emerging styles from both Northern Europe and Italy.

To read on, and watch the video see: https://christian.art/featured-video/