Vecchietta – painter and sculptor

Early Renaissance craftsman left a rich legacy of work in Tuscany

The Vision of Santa Sorore, part of a fresco cycle by
Vecchietta at the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala

The artist Lorenzo di Pietro di Giovanni, who later became known as Vecchietta, ‘the little old one,’ died on this day in 1480 in Siena.

Vecchietta was a renowned painter, sculptor, goldsmith, and architect of the Renaissance. He was born in Siena and baptised on 11 August, 1410 in the city. He is believed to have become the pupil of a Sienese artist and his name has been linked with those of Sassetta, Taddeo di Bartolo and Jacopo della Quercia.

Much of Vecchietta’s work has remained in Siena, some of it in the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, which caused him to be also known as pittor della spedale  - painter of the hospital. With branches in many other towns, the hospital was one of the largest and most famous of its kind in mediaeval Italy.

He painted a series of frescoes for the Pellegrinaio - Pilgrim Hall - at the hospital along with Domenico di Bartolo and Priamo della Quercia. These included The Founding of the Spedale and The Vision of Santa Sorore, which depicts a dream of the mother of the cobbler Sorore, the mythical founder of the hospital.

In about 1444, Vecchietta decorated the Cappella di Sacra Chiodo, the old sacristry, with his work. His frescoes were of Annunciation, Nativity, and Last Judgments scenes and an Allegory of The Ladder, depicting children climbing to heaven.

Vecchietta's Arliquiera, originally in the hospital's
old sacristy, is now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale

He created a bronze figure of the risen Christ, which was signed and dated 1476, for the high altar of the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, which was within the hospital complex. This is said to show the influence of the sculptor Donatello, who Vecchietta is believed to have met in Siena in the 1450s.

The Arliquiera, a painted wardrobe for holy relics, was decorated by Vecchietta for the old sacristry of Santa Maria della Scala in 1445. It is now in the collection of the Pinacoteca Nazionale - National Picture Gallery - of Siena.

Vecchietta and his pupils, who included Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio de’ Landi, created a series of frescoes for the Baptistry of San Giovanni at Siena Cathedral between 1447 and 1450.

A large bronze ciborium, originally created by Vecchietta for the hospital in the 1460s, was moved to the Cathedral after his death. 

A bronze tomb statue of a jurist from Siena was created by Vecchietta for the church of San Domenico and this is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. He also sculpted life-size figures of St Peter and St Paul for the Loggia della Mercanzia and a sculpture of St Martin for the Palazzo Saracini. 

Vecchietta made a silver statue of St Catherine of Siena when she was canonised in 1461, but this work disappeared after the siege of Siena in 1565.

In Pienza, just outside Siena, there is a painting of the Assumption created by Vecchietta in 1461 for Pope Pius II. 

A panel depicting the Madonna, which was created by Vecchietta, is in the Uffizi in Florence and there is a painting of Saint Peter Martyr by Vecchietta at the Palazzo Cini gallery in Venice. The British Library in London has a manuscript of Dante’s Divine Comedy containing illuminations by Vecchietta.

Considered to have been among the outstanding Sienese artists of the 15th century,  Vecchietta died, aged nearly 70, on June 6, 1480 in Siena. He had previously designed a funerary chapel for himself and his wife in Santa Maria della Scala.

Siena's Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
is considered an architectural masterpiece

Travel tip:

Siena in Tuscany is well known as the venue for the historic horse race, the Palio di Siena. The race starts from Piazza del Campo, a shell-shaped open area which is regarded as one of Europe’s finest mediaeval squares. It was established in the 13th century as an open marketplace on a sloping site between three communities that eventually merged to form the city of Siena. The piazza, built between 1287 and 1355, consists of nine sections of fan-like brick pavement said to symbolise the Madonna's cloak said to protect the city in dark times.  The Campo is dominated by the red Palazzo Pubblico and its tower, Torre del Mangia. The city’s cathedral, which houses works by Vecchietta, is considered a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque Gothic architecture.

Vasari's 'wall of windows' became the space
where the Medici displayed their art collection

Travel tip:

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which houses works by Vecchietta, was originally created as a suite of offices - uffici - for the administration of Cosimo I de’ Medici. The architect, Giorgio Vasari, created a wall of windows on the upper storey and from about 1580, the Medici began to use this well-lit space to display their art treasures, which was the start of one of the oldest and most famous art galleries in the world. The present day Uffizi Gallery, in Piazzale degli Uffizi, is open from 8.15 am to 6.50 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.

Also on this day:

1513: The Battle of Novara

1772: The birth of Maria Theresa, the last Holy Roman Empress

1861: The death of Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour

1896: The birth of Italo Balbo, Mussolini’s heir apparent 

1926: The birth of auto engineer Giotto Bizzarrini

1979: The birth of football coach Roberto De Zerbi

 

Home