Triptych of San Michele
Ambrogio Lorenzetti·1330
Historical Context
The Triptych of San Michele by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, painted around 1330, was created for the church of San Michele in Asciano near Siena. Ambrogio was one of the most inventive painters of the Trecento, renowned for his spatial experiments and his monumental Allegory of Good and Bad Government in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico. Now in the Palazzo Corboli Museum in Asciano, this triptych demonstrates Ambrogio's ability to work in the traditional devotional format while infusing it with his distinctive sense of space and figural solidity.
Technical Analysis
Egg tempera and gold on panel in the triptych format with central Madonna and flanking saints. Ambrogio's figures display notably three-dimensional modeling and a spatial awareness that distinguishes his work from the flatter, more decorative approach of contemporary Sienese painters.
