around 1392 -1450 · Siena and spiritual Renaissance

Chiseled gold, delicate colors and visionary landscapes make Sassetta the most inventive master of Sienese painting of the first Quattrocento.

Stefano di Giovanni, called Sassetta since the 18th century, was probably born around 1392 and died in Siena in 1450. Registered with the painters' guild before 1428, he became the major figure in Sienese painting of the first Quattrocento. His first major documented work is the altarpiece of the Arte della Lana, executed between 1423 and 1426. His masterpiece is the vast double-sided altarpiece intended for San Francesco de Borgo San Sepolcro, painted from 1437 to 1444. Sassetta maintains the gold backgrounds, elegant lines and chromatic preciousness of the Sienese tradition, but he associates them with a new sense of space, landscape and human presence. The Annunciation makes the meeting between the Angel and Mary an exchange of gestures and silences. The Virgin and Child with angels unites sacred hierarchy, tenderness and decorative rhythm. In The Ecstasy and Stigmatization of Saint Francis, rocks, trees and architecture not only serve as a setting: they participate in the spiritual experience of the saint. The Franciscan episodes of the altarpiece of San Sepolcro show his talent for summarizing a complex story in a clear, poetic and concrete scene. The Franciscan episodes of the altarpiece of San Sepolcro show his talent for summarizing a complex story in a clear, poetic and concrete scene. Sassetta dies after contracting an illness while performing a fresco. His work, relatively rare but deeply influential, links international Gothic to Renaissance space research. There selection "Sassetta" notably compares The Annunciation and The Virgin and Child with angels. His reading favors composition.

Sassetta brings vision into the landscape: gold, rock and figure belong to the same spiritual space.