The Art and Government Service of Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei (c. 1421 - c. 1495)

Visual Propaganda and Undercover Agency for the Republic of Siena
Erscheinungsjahr 2023
ISBN: 978-94-6372-158-5
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 45, 276 Seiten, Format (B × H): 170 mm x 240 mm

Reihe: Visual and Material Culture, 1300-1700

In 1454 the Sienese painter Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei faced litigation from the Mercanzia in Siena for defaulting on a contract from one of the leading Franciscan confraternities in the city. Two fellow Sienese artists, Giovanni di Paolo and Sano di Pietro, had recently completed a new altarpiece for the same entity. Anabel Thomas considers how the two commissions were linked and questions why Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei’s brief to fresco the confraternity chapel remained unfinished.

In a wide ranging analysis of mainly unpublished records, focussing on the artist’s association with key members of Sienese society, fellow artisans and government officials, Thomas concludes that Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei might have honoured his contract had he not become immersed in the military strategy, diplomacy and visual propaganda of the Republic of Siena.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Thomas, Anabel

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunst, allgemein Einzelne Künstler: Biographien, Monografien
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Renaissance, Manierismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

Structure of the book

Illustrations

Introduction

PART ONE – Art and Diplomacy

Chapter One: The Politics of Journeyman Painting

Chapter Two: The Diplomat Leonardo Benvoglienti and his friend, the Painter Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei

PART TWO – Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei: Conflicting Career Options

Chapter One: Workshop Training and Neighbourhood Networking

Chapter Two: Military Action in Defence of Siena’s Southern Territories

PART THREE – Giovanni di Paolo, Sano di Pietro and Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei and the ‘chompangnia e fraternita di san franciescho posta nel chonvento di san franciescho’

Chapter One: The Fraternity

Chapter Two: A New Altarpiece

Chapter Three: Fresco Work in the Company Chapel

PART FOUR – Francesco di Bartolomeo Alfei, ‘Trusted Servant’ Inside and Outside the Walls of Siena

Chapter One: Arbitrator and Scribe for the Trecerchi

Chapter Two: Martinozzi Patronage

Chapter Three: Government sponsored work inside Siena and official postings in Montalcino, the Val di Chiana and Vergelle

PART FIVE – The Ponte d’Arbia Project – Preserving the ‘honour’ of Siena

Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Thomas, Anabel
After an academic career in the UK, Anabel Thomas has for the last twenty years lived and carried out archival research work in Tuscany. Her other books include Jacques Courtois at Villa Lapeggi, Garrisoning the Borderlands of Medieval Siena, Art and Piety in the Female Religious Communities of Renaissance Italy, and The Painter’s Practice in Renaissance Tuscany.