NEW YORK, NY.- This fall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will open the first major exhibition in the United States focusing on early Sienese painting. Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350 will examine an exceptional moment at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance and the pivotal role of Sienese artists—including Duccio, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Simone Martini—in defining Western painting. In the decades leading up to the catastrophic onset of the plague around 1350, Siena was the site of phenomenal artistic innovation and activity. While Florence is often positioned as the center of the Renaissance, this presentation will offer a fresh perspective on the importance of Siena, from Duccio’s profound influence on a new generation of painters to the development of narrative altarpieces and the dissemination of artistic styles beyond Italy. The exhibition will be on view October 13, 2024, through January 26, 2025.

“Siena was an epicenter of artistic innovation and ambition in the 14th and 15th century. Its impact on the development of European art and on the development of painting cannot be underestimated.” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO. “This monumental exhibition will bring together the most important group of early Sienese paintings ever assembled outside of Siena—offering a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the influence of this extraordinary artistic center.”

Stephan Wolohojian, John Pope-Hennessy Curator in Charge of European Paintings at The Met, said, “The distinctive artistic language of Duccio, the Lorenzetti brothers, Simone Martini, and their contemporaries completely recast the course of European painting. Examining the bold work of these Sienese artists allows us to trace the germination of many of the key ideas that preoccupied artists working in Italy in the following centuries.”

Drawing on the outstanding collections of The Met and the National Gallery, London, as well as rare loans from dozens of other international lenders, the exhibition will highlight more than 100 works by a remarkable group of Sienese artists. It will feature paintings alongside sculptures, metalwork, and textiles, ranging from large works made for public display to intimate objects created for private devotion. Highlights will include Duccio’s Stoclet Madonna, Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Annunciation, and historic reunifications of major pictorial ensembles, such as the back predella of Duccio’s Maestà and Simone Martini’s Orsini Polyptych. Although none of these painters survived the plague of circa 1350, their achievements had an immeasurable impact on painters and theorists in the centuries that followed.

Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350 is curated by Stephan Wolohojian, John Pope-Hennessy Curator in Charge of European Paintings at The Met; Laura Llewellyn, Curator of Italian Paintings before 1500 at the National Gallery, London; and Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland; in collaboration with Joanna Cannon, Professor at the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Following the exhibition's debut at The Met, it will be on view at The National Gallery, London, from March 8 through June 22, 2025.