The exhibition housed in the Palazzo Pubblico
“Siena dal ‘200 al ‘400” (from the 1200s to the 1400s) exhibition had been held at Palazzo Pubblico from 15 June to 15 September 2017 and it was where it was possible to admire something unique of its kind. The exhibition was hosted in the suggestive Magazzini del Sale, a few meters from where many tourists queue up to buy tickets and climb the Mangia tower. The exhibition “Siena dal ‘200 al ‘400” at the Palazzo Pubblico can be visited free of charge and has seen works from the Salini collection on display, one of the most important in the world for the quality of its contents. The collection, owned by the architect Simon Pietro Salini and normally kept at his Sienese residence which is the castle of Gallico (Asciano), was organised by the collector himself who also contributed financially.
Saint Peter by Giovanni Pisano
The exhibition was an extraordinary opportunity both for the Sienese and for tourists to be able to observe works – in total eighty – usually not exhibited to the public.
Among the masterpieces that have been exhibited here, only due to their degree of popularity among art historians, are the Crucifix painted by Duccio (cat.4), the Saint Peter by Giovanni Pisano (cat.12) and a Madonna with Child Enthroned by Jacopo della Quercia (cat.56).
However, the exhibition does not simply provide a view of some masterpieces but instead represents the opportunity, with catalog in hand, to concretely retrace the evolution of the history of Sienese art, a story often made by names little known to the general public whose artistic, however, are closely intertwined with the personalities who bring novelty. To this end, the catalog which compares contemporary works from the various eras of which the collection is composed and which are kept in museums in Siena and in the rest of the world, is extremely useful.
The collection of archaic pottery
In addition to sculptures and paintings, the ceramics section is also of particular interest, a collection that ranges from “archaic” majolica from the 1200s to pieces dating back to the early 1500s.
The collection of ceramics by Salini constitutes a further opportunity to retrace the stylistic evolution of terracotta, as well as the typological evolution associated with its various uses.
What can be traced in the visit to the exhibition is therefore a common thread that links the exhibited works of the Salini collection and which also demonstrates the careful choices of the collector in order to create a logical and coherent discourse from the point of view of stylistic evolution and chronological succession. From the works of Maestro di Tressa to Jacopo della Quercia, thanks to the exhibition “Siena dal ‘200 al ‘400” at Palazzo Pubblico, citizens and tourists have had the opportunity to rediscover the historical memory of the extraordinary examples of Sienese art ⟢
