Sassetta

The first order, known today from the documents, for the creation of the altar painting he received in 1423 from the guild of wool merchants Arte della Lana, who wanted to decorate her chapel in the church of San Pellegrino in Siena. Today this work of Sassetta is known as the “Altar of the Eucharist” ^[5] .

In 1777, this altar was dismantled, its different parts dispersed to different museums, and the central picture was irretrievably lost. According to old descriptions, it symbolically depicted the sacred sacrament of the Eucharist in the form of a donor for communion, surrounded by angels. The altar consisted of many paintings painted on wooden boards: “Coronation of Mary,” “Annunciation,” “St. Thomas "," St. Anthony Abbot ”, the four fathers of the church - Saints Jerome, Gregory, Ambrose and Augustine, the four holy patrons of Siena - Ansanius, Victor, Savin and Crescentius, as well as the figures of the prophets Elijah and Elisha (who survived and are located in the Siena Pinakothek). Of the large parts of the altar, only one painting has survived - “St. Anthony Abbot ”(Siena, Pinacoteca). However, many small paintings of the predella survived - two scenes from the life of St. Anthony (Siena, Pinakothek), “Burning the Heretic” (Melbourne, museum), “Establishment of the Eucharist” (Siena, Pinakothek), “The Miracle of the Sacrament” (Barnard Castle, Bowes Museum), “Thomas Aquinas Praying in front of the Altar of Our Lady” (Budapest , Museum of Fine Arts), and "Thomas Aquinas Praying before the Cross" (Vatican, Pinacotheca). The iconographic program of the altar, apparently, was developed by monks from the Carmelite order, they can be seen in the paintings of the predella. Sassetta did not possess the techniques of perspective, but in the predella paintings he was able to convey the depth of space using the linear rhythms of hills and rocks - a technique that will be used by almost all Siena artists of the 15th century.

In 1430, Sasset received an order for a painting for the altar of St. Boniface in the Siena Cathedral. He worked on this altar from 1430 to 1432. In its central part, he portrayed the Madonna and Child with angels, surrounded by St. Francis, John the Baptist, the Apostles Peter and Paul. The most interesting part of the altar painting is its predella with the history of the founding of the Roman temple of Santa Maria Maggiore.

This altar received the name “Snow Madonna” precisely because of the predella, because on the day when the foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore was laid and the place of laying was consecrated (August 5, 356), snow suddenly fell in Rome. This moment was depicted in one of the paintings by the predecessors of Sassett. Most of the predella paintings were rewritten in the 19th century. However, from what remains, it is clear how Sassetta is trying to apply new ideas about the spatial perspective by connecting them with her “Gothic” techniques: despite the openness of the horizon in the paintings of the predella, he again gets not a real, but a “mystical” space in which the plot unfolds. In the interpretation of the figures of the Madonna and Child, one can notice the influence of Masaccio .

After this work, there was practically no artist in Siena who would not, to one degree or another, experience the influence of Sassetta. Historical documents do not tell what Sassetta did from 1433 to 1436, so the reconstruction of his work during this period is speculative. Probably at this time he painted an altar painting for the church of San Domenico in Cortona, “Madonna and Child with Four Saints” (now Cortona , the Museum of the District), in which Gothic influence remains, but the figures of saints in it evoke associations with the works of Fra Angelico , the artist mystical, and probably close to Sassetta in spirit.

In 1437, Stefano di Giovanni received a large (and financially very substantial) order for the manufacture of an altar for the church of San Francesco in the city of Borgo San Sepolcro, work on which continued until 1444. The altar was made in the Sienna workshop of Sassetta and was transported in parts to Borgo San Sepolcro.

It was a large work reminiscent of “Maesta” by Duccio, a work painted on both sides. On the side facing the parishioners was the Madonna and Child on the Throne, on the back of St. Francis in Glory, and eight scenes from his life on his sides. However, time for this altar was merciless: in 1752 it was dismantled, stored in the utility room, and in the 19th century what was left of it was sold to various collections.

Today you can see parts of it: “Madonna on the throne with St. Anthony and John the Evangelist ”(Paris, Louvre Museum),“ St. Francis in Glory ”and“ John the Baptist ”(Settignano, collection of B. Burnson), paintings on the reverse side -“ Eight scenes from the life of St. Francis ”(of which seven are London, the National Gallery, and one is Chantilly, the Conde Museum). Three panels from the predella of the altar survived with images of “Miracles of Blessed Ranieri Razini” - two in the Louvre, Paris, one in Berlin-Dahl. This undeniable masterpiece of Sassetta’s long work and great art expresses the ideal aspirations of a dying Siena civilization. There is some sorrow in him.

Stefano di Giovanni wrote many beautiful "Madonnas", which are now stored in various museums around the world. A separate topic - “Madonna of St. Jerome and Ambrose ”from the Siena church of Osservanza, and a number of scenes from the life of St. Anthony, who are today attributed to the Master of Osservanz . Until now, not everyone agrees with this point of view. Among the artists on whom Sassetta had a direct influence, one can name Sano di Pietro and Pietro di Giovanni d'Ambrogio .

Sassetta died in 1450 in Siena, working on the frescoes of the Porta Romana (Roman Gate), of which only the “Glory of the Angels” on the vault is preserved. He was married (1440) to Gabriella di Buccio di Biancardo. They had three children, of whom the eldest, Giovanni di Stefano, became a sculptor. After death, Sassetta’s name was forgotten pretty soon. It was born again only in the 18th century as a result of the study of historical documents.

• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Painting. M. Terra. 1997.
• B. Berenson. Sassetta. Firenze. 1946.

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