Lorenzo di Pietro (1410 – June 6, 1480), known as Vecchietta, was an Italian Sienese School

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, sculptor, goldsmith, and architect of the Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasari's ''

Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori ''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 ...

''. It is believed Vecchietta was a pupil of

Sassetta ''For the village near Livorno, see Sassetta, Tuscany'' Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, known as il Sassetta (ca.1392–1450 or 1451) was an Tuscan painter of the Renaissance, and a significant figure of the Sienese School.Judy Metro, ''Italian ...

, Taddeo di Bartolo, and Jacopo della Quercia. Later in his life he was the master of Francesco di Giorgio and

Neroccio de’ Landi Neroccio di Bartolomeo de' Landi (1447–1500) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early-Renaissance or Quattrocento period in Siena. He was a student of Vecchietta, and then he shared a workshop with Francesco di Giorgio from 1468. He ...

"Pittor dello Spedale"

Vecchietta was born in Siena. Much of his work may be found there, particularly at the

Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala Santa Maria della Scala (also referred to as the Hospital, Ospedale, and Spedale) is located in Siena, Italy. Now a museum, it was once an important civic hospital dedicated to caring for abandoned children, the poor, the sick, and pilgrims. Reven ...

, lending him yet another name: ''pittor dello spedale'' (or "painter of the hospital"). For the ''Pellegrinaio'' (Pilgrim Hall) at the Hospital complex, Vecchietta painted a series of frescoes, along with Domenico di Bartolo and Priamo della Quercia, including ''The Founding of the Spedale'' and ''The Vision of Santa Sorore'', depicting a dream of the mother of the cobbler Sorore, the mythical founder of the Hospital. Later, around 1444, he created the ''Cappella del Sacro Chiodo'', also known as the Old Sacristy, decorated with his own work. The frescoes included

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

, Nativity, and

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

scenes, and an Allegory of the Ladder depicting children climbing to heaven. For the high altar of the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, within the Hospital complex, he created a bronze figure of the ''Risen Christ'' (signed and dated 1476), which shows the influence of Donatello. The ''Arliquiera'', a painted wardrobe for holy relics, was painted by Vecchietta and placed in the Old Sacristy of Santa Maria della Scala in 1445. It is now in the collection of the National Picture Gallery of Siena.

Other works in Siena

An enormous bronze ciborium, created by Vecchietta for the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala (c. 1467-72), was moved to the

Cathedral of Siena A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

in 1506. According to Vasari, "This casting, which is admirable, acquired very great fame and repute for him by reason of the proportion and grace that it shows in all its parts; and whosoever observes this work well can see that the design is good, and that the craftsman was a man of judgment and of practised ability." Between 1447 and 1450, a series of frescoes were completed for the Baptistry of San Giovanni at Siena Cathedral, executed by Vecchietta and his pupils. They include depictions of the Evangelists, Prophets and Sibyls, the Four Articles of the Creed, and the Assumption. The frescoes were substantially repainted at the end of the 19th century. Vecchietta also painted two scenes on the wall of the apse: ''Flagellation'' and ''Road to Calvary''. At the Palazzo Saracini, he created a sculpture of St. Martin. A bronze tomb statue of Marianus Soccinus the Elder (a noted Sienese jurist) for the church of San Domenico is housed at the Uffizi in Florence. For the ''Loggia della Mercanzia'', Vecchietta sculpted life-size figures of St. Peter and St. Paul (c.1458-1460), which Vasari praised as "wrought with consummate grace and executed with fine mastery." Vecchietta also crafted a silver statue of St. Catherine of Siena at the time of the saint's canonization in 1461. This work disappeared after the siege of Siena in 1555.

Works elsewhere

Outside Siena, Vecchietta's chief work is a painting of the Assumption (1451) at the church in Pienza, created for the Piccolimino Pope Pius II. The Uffizi in Florence, in addition to the bronze statue of Marianus brought from Siena, has a panel depicting the Madonna created by Vecchietta. Vecchietta died in Siena on 6 June 1480.

References

Notes

External links

Vecchietta's ''Risen Christ'', Santa Maria della Scala Hospital, Siena
* ttp://www.santamariadellascala.com/w2d3/v3/view/sms/presentazione/single_content_en.html Website of Santa Maria della Scala, Siena {{DEFAULTSORT:Vecchietta 1412 births 1480 deaths Italian goldsmiths 15th-century Italian architects 15th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Siena Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Catholic sculptors Catholic decorative artists Catholic painters Architects of Roman Catholic churches