Saint Anthony the Abbot: partial circa 1380s fresco of venerable patriarch with bald head, staring eyes and curly grey beard by Sienese School artists Cristoforo di Bindoccio and Meo di Piero in the Chiesa di San Francesco, the Franciscan church at Pienza, Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy.
Pienza, Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy: head and shoulders detail of partial Late Gothic fresco of Saint Anthony the Abbot or Anthony the Great in the nave of the Chiesa di San Francesco (Church of St Francis). The fragmentary artwork, painted circa 1380, depicts the venerable saint with staring eyes, a curly grey beard and prominent white eyebrows and is jointly attributed to the 14th century Sienese School painters Cristoforo di Bindoccio and Meo di Piero. It was painted as the pair worked at the church on a Life of St Francis fresco cycle. Cristoforo di Bindoccio, also known as Maestro Bindoccio and Cristofano Malabarba or Malombra, is documented in Siena from 1361 to 1407. After working with Sienese artist Francesco di Vannuccio, he formed a fruitful and lasting artistic partnership with Meo di Piero or Meo di Pero, who worked in Cristoforo’s studio and is recorded from 1370 to 1407. Their artworks, sometimes signed by both men, survive in churches, monasteries and other places of worship in Tuscany and beyond. Pienza stands in the Val d’Orcia between Montepulciano and Montalcino and was originally known as Corsignano. The Chiesa di San Francesco, with a gabled facade and Gothic portal, was built as part of a 13th century monastic complex. Corsignano was rebuilt and renamed after Renaissance humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini, born here in 1405, became Pope Pius II in 1458. Early in his reign, he changed the name to Pienza (city of Pius) and rebuilt it as an ideal Renaissance retreat from Rome, enhanced by new palaces and a cathedral. The design of Pienza, one of modern Europe’s first city planning projects, proved influential both in Italy and in other European urban centres. Pienza was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and in 2004, the Val d’Orcia joined the list of UNESCO’s World Cultural Landscapes.
Size: 1902px × 2852px
Location: Pienza, Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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