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Maestà di Ambrogio Lorenzetti Siena
Artist: Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Year: 1337-1338
Current location: Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
Original location: Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION
Inside the Piccolomini Chapel within the church, the famous fresco depicting the Maestà by Ambrogio Lorenzetti is visible in a lunette. The fresco, which is the oldest work preserved in the church, was saved only because the renovations carried out by the Piccolomini family resulted in the chapel's massive altar being placed against the wall of Lorenzetti's Maestà.
Since the latter was obscured by the altar itself, no one bothered to remove it, unlike other frescoes that were presumably present in the chapel. The fresco was rediscovered in 1944, when the Sodoma panel that concealed it was protected from the bombings of World War II.
The entire Piccolomini altar was subsequently moved to the opposite side of the chapel, allowing Lorenzetti's Maestà to be enjoyed again.
Maestà di Ambrogio Lorenzetti