Ambrogio Lorenzetti (c. 1290–1348) was an exceptionally original Italian painter of the Sienese school, active from approximately 1317 to 1348. Along with his elder brother, Pietro Lorenzetti, he played a pivotal role in moving Sienese art away from rigid Byzantine traditions toward a greater naturalism and emotional depth.
While he was influenced by the narrative solidity of the Florentine master Giotto, Ambrogio retained the decorative elegance and color typical of Siena. He is best known for his revolutionary secular masterpiece, the fresco cycle The Allegory of Good and Bad Government (1338–1339), located in the Sala dei Nove (Room of the Nine) in Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico.
This massive work is unique for its time as it deals with political ethics rather than religious themes. It features the first panoramic landscape in Western art since antiquity, depicting the countryside of Siena with remarkable detail and atmospheric perspective. Ambrogio was a pioneer in experimenting with spatial depth and vanishing points, anticipating the scientific perspective that would define the later Renaissance.
Tragically, the careers of both Ambrogio and his brother Pietro were cut short in 1348. They are both believed to have died during the first devastating wave of the Black Death (bubonic plague) that wiped out nearly half the population of Siena.
Active in others filds : Civic Allegory, Political Philosophy (via Visual Art).
