How Italian gold-ground Masters conquered the American heartland
Samuel Henry Kress - He amassed a world-class collection of early tempera-on-panel works.
Medieval | Renaissance: A Dialogue on Early Italian Painting
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston - The transition from the Middle Ages to the early Renaissance in Italy.
Recommended publication: Italian Paintings at the Yale University Art Gallery
Volume 1: 1230-1420 - This volume by Laurence Kanter and Pia Palladino is not merely a catalogue; it is a vital bridge to understanding the spiritual and technical genesis of the Western tradition.
Video recommendation: Sunday at The Met—Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350
The Met, New York - The discussion shines a spotlight on the innovative painting techniques of Duccio, Simone Martini, and the Lorenzetti brothers, detailing how their material choices forever changed the trajectory of Western painting.
Video highlight: Exhibition Tour— Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350
The Met, New York - For readers of Fondo Oro, this production serves as a spectacular visual archive, beautifully illustrating how delicate gold-ground panels, textiles, and metalwork combined to establish a revolutionary narrative style.
Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350
The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 999 - This unmissable presentation offers a fresh, vital perspective on the origins of the Italian Renaissance.
METAL OF HONOR: Gold from Simone Martini to Contemporary Art
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston - The only Martini altarpieces of any kind to be found beyond Italy’s borders.
Video highlight: Frick Perspectives - The Glint of Gold: Early Italian Pictures by Nathaniel Silver
The Frick Collection - This lecture explores the museum's works by Early Italian Renaissance masters.