The art of the Italian brothers Pietro (active 1306-1348") and Ambrogio (1319-1348") Lorenzetti emerged from the middle-class world of late medieval Siena and was one of the varied manifestations of Tuscan Gothic painting.

There is little documentary evidence for either Pietro or Ambrogio Lorenzetti, but their fraternal relationship is proved by an inscription transcribed from frescoes of 1335 (now lost) for a hospital in Siena. This sole record of collaboration would indicate that in spite of stylistic connections between them their careers unfolded separately, a conclusion borne out by the distinctiveness of their work.

Early Work

Pietro seems to have been the elder, for there is documentary mention of him as early as 1306. His first known work is the Madonna and Saints altarpiece (signed and documented 1320; Arezzo). The format and facial types derive from Duccio, certainly Pietro's first master. An interest in space observable in the Annunciation above the...