Sano di Pietro
Artists
Sano di Pietro (1405-1481) was one of the most prolific and influential painters and illuminators in 15th-century Siena. He illuminated two of the leaves, MSS 196 and 198. They preserve echoes from his earliest securely dated work, the altarpiece which he completed for the church of the Gesuati and signed in 1444.
Last Judgement
This leaf came from an Antiphoner made for the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena c. 1460-1477. The initial D belonged to the office of Matins for the second Sunday after Epiphany. The Last Judgement was created by Sano di Pietro, who worked as both panel painter and illuminator. It reveals the continuous reuse of motifs that the artist made across the two media throughout his long and successful career. The figure of Christ echoes that in the pinnacle of the Gesuati altarpiece, Sano di Pietro’s earliest securely dated work, commissioned for the Gesuati’s enlarged church of San Girolamo near the Porta Peruzzini, and completed and signed by the artist in 1444 (Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale, inv. 246).
Related content: Lab
- Overview of Artists' Materials: 'Mosaic gold'
- Overview of Artists' Materials: Lead white
- Overview of Artists' Materials: Malachite
- Overview of Artists' Materials: Minium and Red lead
- Analytical Methods: Near-infrared imaging
- Analytical Methods: Optical microscopy
- Overview of Artists' Techniques: Painting the flesh