Saint Catherine of Siena. Ecstasy and Ardor

The exhibition, curated by Alessandro Angelini of theUniversity of Siena, Gabriele Fattorini of theUniversity of Florence and Michele Maccherini of theUniversity of L'Aquila, has the subtitle: the image of the saint from the time of Francesco Vanni to the pontificate of Alexander VII which clarifies the fundamental aspects of the initiative.

Divided into six sections, consisting of about sixty works including paintings, sculptures, books, prints and drawings, the exhibition examines the image, the depiction of the saint and her stories in artistic production during the period following the Council of Trent (concluded in 1563). Compared to the previous phase, the older one that ranges from the late 14th century to the mid-16th century, the image of the Sienese saint then experienced a genuine leap in quality and a radical iconographic transformation, with the depiction of the ecstatic and visionary dimension, which until then had remained somewhat compressed, with a multiplication of episodes and a more philological rereading of the texts, starting precisely from the Legenda maior of Blessed Raymond of Capua. This rediscovery of the miraculous and ecstatic dimension of the mantellata is enacted by great masters of the brush, such as Francesco Vanni above all, who became a true specialist in the subject, almost the heir of the painter of the same name who lived two centuries earlier and contemporary of Catherine, Andrea Vanni, who had executed the famous portrait of the nun that we can contemplate in San Domenico. But also Ventura Salimbeni, Alessandro Casolani and then Francesco Rustici, Rutilio Manetti and finally Raffaello Vanni depict episodes of Catherine's life with a language that ranges from the sweet and severe style of the late sixteenth century, to the Caravaggesque naturalism well represented by Manetti, up to the thresholds of the Baroque that enters Siena forcefully, thanks to Gian Lorenzo Bernini's work in the Chigi Chapel of the Cathedral. From an artistic point of view, these masters record an ever closer link between Siena and Rome in these years following the subjugation of the city to the Medici duchy, which marks a desire for cultural autonomy from the politically dominant center.

However, also on the devotional level, the revival of the image of the Saint also responds to the city's need for cultural autonomy, and the struggle for the recognition of the saint's stigmata, officially achieved only in 1630, and which until that moment had been supported primarily in the Dominican sphere, originates directly from Benincasa's native city. The theme of the stigmata will here become almost an exhibition within the exhibition, with the various ways of representing this miracle, which made Catherine in the eyes of devotees an 'alter Christus', just like Saint Francis of Assisi. The transfer of the Cross from the church of Santa Cristina from Pisa to Siena in 1565 and the construction of a sumptuous oratory to preserve it worthily are part of this particular moment for the fortune of the mantellata on the historical and iconographic level, also with its delicate political implications.

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The exhibition was awarded the Medal of the President of the Republic

With the patronage of

Tuscany Region, Dicastery for Culture of the Holy See, Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences

Promoting bodies

Municipality of Siena, Foundation of the Old Hospital Santa Maria della Scala, National Museums of Siena, University of Siena, University of Florence, University of L'Aquila, Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation, Archdiocese of Siena - Colle di Val d’Elsa - Montalcino, State Archives of Siena, Opera of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Siena

Supporting entities

Municipality of Siena, Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation, Si.ge.ri.co. S.p.A., Immagine Studio S.n.c., Unicoop Firenze

In collaboration with

Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo, Vernice Cultural Projects, Department of Historical Sciences and Cultural Heritage - University of Siena, Department of History, Archaeology, Geography, Art and Performance - University of Florence, Department of Human Sciences – University of L'Aquila, Opera Laboratories
Media partner

Italy Homeland of Beauty Foundation, Canale 3 Toscana