Full title | The Nativity with Saints |
---|---|
Artist | Pietro Orioli |
Artist dates | 1458 - 1496 |
Group | The Nativity with Saints Altarpiece |
Date made | probably about 1485-95 |
Medium and support | Tempera on wood |
Dimensions | 187.5 x 155 cm |
Inscription summary | Inscribed |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1901 |
Inventory number | NG1849.1 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
The Christ Child, naked but with a gilded halo, lies on a bed of straw. Golden rays shoot out around him. Kneeling around Christ in adoration are his parents and four saints. God the Father appears above, and more saints stand in the pilasters to the sides of the main scene. On the far left the face of one of the shepherds is visible peering around the frame.
This is the main panel of an altarpiece by Pietro Orioli, and in it we see his interests in spatial depth and naturalistic representation that set him apart from many of his Sienese contemporaries. He has set the story in a believable landscape, with blue sky above and trees and buildings in the distance; the frame of the roof recedes along diagonals and the composition is carefully structured around an underlying geometry. The saints, chatting casually, have a variety of gestures and expressions quite different from the graceful but more static figures of much late fifteenth-century Sienese painting.
The Christ Child, naked but with a gilded halo, lies on a bed of straw. Golden rays shoot out around him. A sparse timber frame with a thatched roof represents the stable where he was born; its beams rest on the rocky arch of a deep, dark cave which almost fills the background. The towers and roofs of Bethlehem rise on the left.
Kneeling around Christ in adoration are his parents, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, with Saint John the Baptist on the left and Saint Jerome on the right. Standing at the sides are Saint Stephen (on the left) and Saint Nicholas of Bari (on the right). God the Father appears above, flanked by two angels, and blesses his son. Behind the Virgin are an ox and a donkey, which turns its rear to us, oblivious to the miraculous child in the manger. On the far left, behind Saint Stephen, the face of one of the shepherds is visible peering around the frame. The pilasters on either side of the main panel show, from top to bottom, the Annunciation to the Virgin; Saint Peter and Saint Paul; and Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Lucy.
This large painting is the main panel of an altarpiece by Pietro Orioli. It is one of several versions that Orioli painted of this subject, and it demonstrates many of the stylistic features that made him one of the most important and influential painters in Siena in the last two decades of the fifteenth century. Unlike many his contemporaries, who clung to the decorative traditions of Sienese painting, Orioli was fascinated by perspective and naturalism. Here, he has set the sacred story in a believable landscape, with blue sky above and trees and buildings in the distance. The roof frame of the stable recedes along diagonals which, if extended, would converge at a single point behind the cave. The composition is carefully structured around an underlying geometry: the figures around Christ form a triangle, the apex of which is God the Father. A strong light falls on them from the left, giving an illusion of solid bodies under their clothes. The saints seem engaged in casual conversation, their variety of expressions and gestures very different from the graceful but more static figures of much contemporary Sienese painting.
The shape of altarpiece, with a single panel large enough to include the lateral saints normally separated in polyptychs, was one developed in the fifteenth century. This particular variant of a pala altarpiece, with a curved top, was first adopted by Orioli’s master, Matteo di Giovanni, for his Virgin and Child with Saints in the chapel of St Antony of Padua in Siena Cathedral. It was widely adopted and became the most popular format in Sienese territory in the late fifteenth century.
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The Nativity with Saints Altarpiece
The Christ Child lies naked and glowing in the centre of the main panel of this arched altarpiece, adored by his parents and four saints. More saints stand in the pilasters. Recent research has identified the original location of this altarpiece as a small chapel in the castle of Cerreto Ciampoli, around 13 km to the north of Siena.
In the late fifteenth century, the patronage of the chapel was in the hands of the Cerretani, who took their name from the castle; the coats of arms of a particular branch of the family appear on the predella (the part of an altarpiece below the main level). The saints included reflect the dedication of the chapel and the interests of the family.
For many years this painting was thought to be by Giacomo Pacchiarotto (who died in 1539/40), but is now attributed to Pietro Orioli, one of the most progressive of Sienese Renaissance painters.
The Christ Child lies naked and glowing in the centre of the main panel of this arched altarpiece. In this nativity scene, Christ is adored not only by his parents, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, but by four saints, none of whom could have been present at the biblical event. More saints stand in the pilasters, and in the predella below are five scenes from the Passion of Christ.
For many years this painting was attributed to a young Giacomo Pacchiarotto (who died in 1539/40) and was thought to have been a charming but old-fashioned work of the first third of the sixteenth century. It is now recognised as a major work by one of the most progressive of Sienese Renaissance painters, Pietro Orioli, and is dated to about 1495 on the basis of its similarity to the Visitation with Saints (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena), one of his last works. The towers in the background are very close to those seen in his Nativity in the Bichi chapel (Sant'Agostino, Siena) of 1490–94.
Recent research has identified the original location of this altarpiece as a small chapel in the castle of Cerreto Ciampoli, around 13 km to the north of Siena. The chapel was dedicated to Saint Stephen, who stands on the left side, and Saint Nicholas of Bari, who appears on the right. In the late fifteenth century, the patronage of the chapel was in the hands of the Cerretani, who took their name from the castle; their coat of arms appear at the left end of the predella. One particular branch of the family seems to have been responsible for the altarpiece: the descendants of Aldobrando di Pietro Cerretani and Bartolomea di Jacopo di Pietro Piccolomini (the arms at the right end of the predella are those of the Piccolomini–Salmoneschi). The saints chosen reflect the devotional interests of Aldobrando’s heirs. Many of the family were named after Saint Jerome, who kneels in the front row here facing Saint John the Baptist, his regular companion in Sienese art. Versions of the name Peter were also popular in the family, and here Saint Peter stands in the left pilaster facing his traditional counterpart, Saint Paul.
The altarpiece was described in various documents associated with the chapel from the early sixteenth century up to 1786. In 1794 it was sold to the Cerretani family, in whose collection it was recorded in 1835. Although attributing it to Baldassare Peruzzi, the 1835 description unexpectedly also mentions two other artists: Pietro di Francesco Giovanelli and Pietro di Francesco Orioli, both at that time known only as names. Perhaps an inscription (now lost) was still visible at that time, naming one Pietro di Francesco as the painter.


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