The Lorenzetti Brothers

           The city of Siena, as noted in Public buildings in fourteenth-century Siena,  often hired artist to create beautiful paintings in their newly constructed buildings.  One very popular artist of choice was Ambrogio Lorenzetti.  He painted many pieces such as Roman history scenes outside the Signori rooms, and the allegory of Good and Bad government in the Plazzo Pubblico (CP 59).  Ambrogio and his brother, Pietro Lorenzetti, studied under another artist mentioned in class, Duccio. Both brothers were revered artist, but each had his own style.  Ambrogio took aspects of Byzantine art and naturalism and channeled them in to many secular and religious paintings.  Pietro, who is most famous for his religious artwork, was more influenced by Gothic artwork than his brother.  

                The Madonna and Saints altarpiece, shown on the left, dates back to 1320 and is Pietro Lorenzetti's first known work.  The other piece of art, also Ambrogio Lorenzetti's first known work titled the Madonna and Child, dates back to 1319.  Although Pietro's painting contains much more, both brothers have depicted the Virgin Mary and Jesus in their artwork.  One key difference amongst the photos is the attention to depth and three dimensions in Ambrogio's work.  This is very noticeable in the face of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and the throne.  There is also a very noticeable difference in the way Jesus is depicted.  In Pietro's painting he is shown in a typical fashion which is very all knowing and mature, but in Ambrogio's he is depicted as a baby with very little knowledge and almost helpless.  It interesting how each brother had very similar instruction yet took two different approaches on the same scene. 

All of my sources can be found here.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/348172/Pietro-Lorenzetti

http://www.yourdictionary.com/pietro-and-ambrogio-lorenzetti