who did the city council of siena commission to fresco the city hall with scenes of the government
Ambrogio Lorenzetti
title: Republic of Siena text: in the town of Siena. Siena rivaled Florence in the arts throughout the 13th and 14th centuries: the important late medieval painter Duccio (1253–1319) was a Sienese, but worked across the peninsula. The mural titled "Allegory of Good Government" () painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1338–39 at the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena's town hall, is considered a magnificent example of late-Medieval/early Renaissance art as well as a representation of the utopia of urban society as conceived during that period. During the early 13th century that the majority of the construction of the Siena Cathedral (Duomo) was completed. During the same period title: The Allegory of Good and Bad Government text: The Allegory of Good and Bad Government The Allegory of Good and Bad Government is a series of three fresco panels painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti between February 1338 and May 1339. The paintings are located in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico—specifically in the "Sala dei Nove" ("Salon of Nine"), the council hall of the Republic of Siena's nine executive magistrates, elected officials who performed executive functions (and judicial ones in secular matters). The paintings have been construed as being "designed to remind the Nine [magistrates] of just how much was at stake as they made their decisions". Considered Lorenzetti's "undisputed masterpiece", the title: Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the siege of Montemassi text: of Nine, Siena's ruling body. The murals capture important triumphs in the history of Siena. From the beginning of the 14th century the city council commissioned murals of castles and cities that were conquered by Siena. By decorating the meeting room of the Council of Nine with these images, it was made clear that these cities and castles were now the inalienable property of Siena. In this sense, the frescoes can be seen as an artistic form of political propaganda. These frescoes eventually filled two walls of the meeting room in the Palazzo Pubblico. Between 1314 and 1331 at least title: The Allegory of Good and Bad Government text: therefore, without war, every civic result duly follows—useful necessary, and pleasurable". Below the fresco is the Lorenzetti's signature: Ambrosius Laurentii De Senis Hic Pinxit Utrinque.§§§ On the longer wall of the room in the Salla is the fresco "The Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country". Part of that fresco is "Peaceful City". This panoramic fresco represents several scenes indicating the life of Siena and its environment in the 14th century. This painting provides the first accurate panoramic view of city and country (landscape) since antiquity; viewers can identify the city of Siena, as opposed to title: Porta Romana, Siena text: with travertine marble. The courtyard is surrounded by arrowslits. It was likely that the gate doors could be opened sequentially. The outer portal has a round bas-relief with the Roman Catholic "IHS" Christogram inside a sun symbol (San Bernardino Christogram). In 1417, Taddeo di Bartolo was commissioned to paint the "Madonna" icon on the inner portal, dedicated to the protection of the city. The painting was further retouched by Sassetta and later Sano di Pietro who completed it in 1466. The painting depicted a "Glory of Angels" in lower arches, and a "Coronation of the Virgin" in the central arch.