The City of the Lady: Sienese Civic Identity and the Virgin in Early Renaissance Art

Abstract

During the course of the Renaissance, Siena’s artistic output remained visually and thematically rooted in the iconic Byzantine style, and for this it was long dismissed as stagnant in the light of developments in Florence and Rome. In this essay, I will draw on Diana Norman’s seminal research, focusing not on the alleged “conservatism” of this artistic output but on the rich ways Marian imagery in Siena permeates both religion and politics and the way in which these spheres overlap to create a strong sense of Sienese civic identity. An attitude of devotion in our own personal lives inspired by the Sienese would undoubtedly, this author believes, begin to mitigate the impact of the current toxically divided political atmosphere in our own lives; this civic devotion is the endeavor to live under the Virgin’s admonition towards “good counsel” and Christ’s words of care for the least of these, investing every area of our lives with acts of and promptings toward devotion.