The ''Nativity of the Virgin'' is a painting by the Italian late medieval painter

Pietro Lorenzetti Pietro Lorenzetti (; – 1348) or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between c. 1306 and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio, he introduced naturalism into Sienese art. In their artistry and experiments with three-dimen ...

, dating from around 1335–1342, now housed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo of

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 ...

, Italy.

History

The painting originally decorated the altar of St. Sabinus in the Cathedral of Siena, and had been commissioned as part of a cycle of four altarpieces dedicated to the city's patrons saints ( St. Ansanus,

St. Sabinus of Spoleto :''for other saints called Sabinus, see Sabinus (disambiguation)'' Saint Sabinus of Spoleto (died c. 300) was a bishop in the Christian church who resisted the Diocletianic Persecution and was martyred. According to legend, Venustian, governor of ...

, St. Crescentius and St. Victor) during 1330–1350. These included the ''

Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus The ''Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus'' is a painting by the Italian Gothic artists Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. It is a wooden triptych painted in tempera and gold, with a ...

'' by

Simone Martini Simone Martini ( – 1344) was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style. It is thought that Martini was a pupil ...

and

Lippo Memmi Lippo Memmi (c. 1291 – 1356) was an Italian painter from Siena. He was the foremost follower of Simone Martini, who was his brother-in-law. Together with Martini, in 1333 he painted what is regarded as one of the masterworks of the Intern ...

, the '' Presentation at the Temple'' by

Ambrogio Lorenzetti Ambrogio Lorenzetti (; – 9 June 1348) or Ambruogio Laurati was an Italian painter of the Sienese school. He was active from approximately 1317 to 1348. He painted '' The Allegory of Good and Bad Government'' in the Sala dei Nove (Salon of Nin ...

(1342, altar of St. Crescentius), and a ''Nativity'', now disassembled, attributed to Bartolomeo Bulgarini from 1351 (altar of St. Victor). All the paintings should represent stories of the Life of the Madonna, and were crowned by

Duccio di Buoninsegna Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...

's ''

Maestà Maestà , the Italian word for "majesty", designates a classification of images of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, the designation generally implying accompaniment by angels, saints, or both. The ''Maestà'' is an extension of the "Se ...

''.

Description

The work is a

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

, although the scenes are set in the same location (an unusual feature for the time), a room whose vaults follow the shape of the panel; the scenes, painted using a crude geometrical perspective, are separated by two white piers in the foreground. The vaults have a starry night sky, as typical of Gothic edifices of the time. The left scene depicts Joachim, Mary's father, waiting together with a child and an old man. Behind him, an opened lunette and arcade show the court of a Gothic palace. St. Anna is lying on a bed (a typical medieval chest) in the central scene with a white drape behind, while, in the foreground, two women are washing her daughter. A woman, wearing a red dress, is shown behind the right pier, while speaking with Anna; she holds an inlaid object, perhaps a banner or a musical instrument. Two further women with washing accessories appear in the right panel.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nativity Of The Virgin (Pietro Lorenzetti) 1330s paintings 1340s paintings Paintings by Pietro Lorenzetti Gothic paintings Paintings in the collection of the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Siena) Lorenzetti Triptychs