Peinture de Sienne

Luca di Tommè, Cennino Cennini, Taddeo di Bartolo: so many well-sounding names that make us think of an Italy of our dreams, that of free municipalities, of altarpieces with gold backgrounds, of “condottieri”, of the first lights of the Renaissance. This is the Italy of Siena. In the XIVth century the small town in Tuscany was in competition with neighbouring Florence and invented a precise style of painting, full of concrete details, with architectures, tables set and draperies. The perspective was far from perfect but the story it told was solid: the Martyrdom of saint Laurence (Bartolo di Fredi) or the Lamentation by Gregorio di Cecco can be read like an open book – it was the Biblia Pauperum, the Bible of the poor of the time. This catalogue accompanies an exhibition at the musée des Beaux-Arts of Rouen (until 17 August 2015), and mentions some of the great names such as Duccio, Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers but also gives the minor masters the place they deserve.

• Peinture de Sienne, Bozar Books/Silvana Editoriale, 248 p., €39.