around 1362 -1422 · Siena, Tuscany and international Gothic

Chiseled gold, monumental figures and sacred stories make Taddeo di Bartolo one of the most influential Sienese painters between the Trecento and the Quattrocento.

Taddeo di Bartolo was born around 1362 in Siena and died there in 1422. Documented as a painter from the 1380s, he led an exceptionally mobile career before becoming the privileged artist of the Sienese commune. His commissions on drive to Genoa, Pisa, Padua, San Gimignano and several centers in Tuscany and Liguria. He works for churches, brotherhoods and urban governments, creating altarpieces, frescoes and devotional images. In Siena, its Palazzo Pubblico cycle associates the political authority of the city with great exemplary figures of Antiquity. In its religious panels, the gold background remains an active spiritual space, punctuated by hallmarks and architecture and bold colors. Christ and the twelve apostles bring together thirteen busts under an engraved arcade: each gesture individualizes the figure while maintaining the liturgical unity of the predella. The Crucifixion intensifies the pain by the elongation of bodies and the sharpness of gaze. Its Virgins retain Sienese elegance, but gain weight, presence and gravity. Taddeo's workshop becomes a decisive place of training for the next generation, notably Giovanni di Paolo. His work thus links the refinement of the 14th century to the narrative vigor of the first Quattrocento. The "Taddeo di Bartolo" selection notably compares Christ and the Twelve Apostles and The Crucifixion. His reading favors light.

Taddeo di Bartolo gives the golden background the strength of a stage: gestures, looks and silhouettes compose a sacred theater of monumental clarity.