The Trinity Triptych is a 1513 oil on panel painting by

Domenico Beccafumi Domenico di Pace Beccafumi (1486May 18, 1551) was an Italian Renaissance- Mannerist painter active predominantly in Siena. He is considered one of the last undiluted representatives of the Sienese school of painting. Biography Domenico was bor ...

, now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

. Beccafumi's earliest surviving painting, it was produced as the altarpiece for the Cappella del Manto in the

Santa Maria della Scala Santa Maria della Scala (English: Mary of the Staircase) is a titular church in Rome, Italy, located in the Trastevere rione. Cardinal Ernest Simoni took possession of the titular church on 11 February 2017. Santa Maria della Scala is a titular ...

hospital complex, where it remained until 1818. This influenced the choice of

Cosmas and Damian Cosmas and Damian ( ar, قُزما ودميان, translit=Qozma wa Demyaan; grc-gre, Κοσμᾶς καὶ Δαμιανός, translit=Kosmás kai Damianós; la, Cosmas et Damianus; AD) were two Arab physicians in the town Cyrrhus, and were r ...

as two of the accompanying saints, flanking

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

. The artist also produced a fresco cycle for that chapel, of which only ''Joachim and Anna Meeting at the Golden Gate'' survives. A prestigious work in light of the commissioning institution's importance and wealth, it showed Beccafumi's welcome back to Siena (he had just returned from Rome at the time). A cartouche on the frame records the work was commissioned by Battista d'Antonio da Ceva "for his devotion . As shown in documents rediscovered by Samminiatelli, the work was delivered between February and March 1513 at a fee no greater than 35 florins. Vasari's ''

Lives of the Artists ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' ( it, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori), often simply known as ''The Lives'' ( it, Le Vite), is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-ce ...

'' argued the work's main influence was

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ea ...

but in fact that artist's influence is absent in favour of Sienese and Florentine art of the period, particularly Fra' Bartolomeo's simplification of volume, Sodoma's fluidity and

Filippino Lippi Filippino Lippi (April 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance. Biography Filippino Lippi was born in Prato, Tusc ...

's expressive restlessness. The cherubs in cloud recall

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

's recent Foligno Madonna, which Beccafumi may have seen in Rome as a work in progress, while the restlessly moving and individualised figures and contrasting colours both prefigure Mannerism Alfredo Aldrovandi, Nicoletta Bracci, Paola Bracco, Ciro Castelli, Ottavio Ciappi, Marco Ciatti, Mauro Parri, Alessandra Ramat and Andrea Santacesaria, 'Ricerche e Interventi su Alcuni Dipinti di Domenico Beccafumi', ''OPD Restauro'', No. 4 (1992), pp. 28-50, 99-104

References

{{16C-painting-stub 1513 paintings Paintings depicting John the Baptist Paintings depicting John the Apostle Paintings of Saints Cosmas and Damian Paintings by Domenico Beccafumi Paintings in the Pinacoteca Nazionale (Siena) Triptychs Paintings depicting the Holy Trinity