Pietro Lorenzetti (circa 1280 – 1348) was one of the painters responsible for the naturalistic elements in the Sienese Art. With his brother, Ambrosio Lorenzetti (1290-1348), have built the basements for the Renaissance that would develop in Florence within a few decades. Lorenzetti has studied with Giovani Pisoto and Giotto, who were the masters of the transition between the Gothic and Renaissentist styles.
The naturalism was the radical interpretation of reality, depicting it by observing nature and “copying”, whether in painting or sculpture. The Gothic representations at the High Middle Ages, have had the concern to represent human and natural forms, but they were still keener to religious and fantastical aspects. Bodies were depicted in a lean and fluid way, not following the canons.
The Sienese School was influenced by Byzantine art and its icons, which was called a maniera greca, or greek way in English. There’s a use of non-realistic colors and gold in the compositions, aspects that would be abolished by the Florentines artists.
Lorenzetti has brought the influence of the art produced in Florence, and mainly by Giotto, who’s considered the father of the Renaissance. With that, the study of nature and anatomic forms were used in compositional creation. Everything was inspired by the way the Greek-Roman culture has interpreted the nature and the use of color was also measured into the idealization of beauty. For real forms, they decided to use real colors. The perspective was still under development, which would come inspired by the first architectural works of the Renaissance. While the rest of Europe was experiencing the Late-Gothic, Florence was conquesting the position of cultural and artistic center of the western world, and its dominance would reach other countries by the 15th century.
