Siena, Sassetta work discovered. It is on display in Massa Marittima

There is also an unpublished work at the exhibition on Sassetta (Stefano di Giovanni, active in Siena from 1423 to 1450) being held in Massa Marittima, at the Museo di San Pietro all’Orto, from March 15 to July 14, 2024. In fact, a new work by the Sienese artist has been discovered, the protagonist of the exhibition Sassetta and His Time. A look at early 15th-century Sienese art curated by Alessandro Bagnoli. The work is a Madonna and Child that comes to the exhibition from the parish church of San Giovanni Battista in Molli, in the territory of Sovicille, not far from Siena. It is a tempera on panel measuring 67.5 by 45.3 centimeters.

The work was cut out on all four sides at an unspecified time, and moreover it was completely repainted in the 17th century, so it was difficult to recognize Sassetta’s hand under the repainting. It was Bagnoli himself who realized the quality of the work: having it restored (the intervention was conducted by specialist Barbara Schleicher), the work returned to the original colors that allowed the work to be attributed to Sassetta.

The iconographic subject with which the newly discovered Madonna and Child is presented was very much practiced by the artist, since it was one of the most common in the 15th century: it is in fact a Madonna of humility, that is, a seated Madonna, in this case on the ground above a cushion (it can be glimpsed under the Virgin’s mantle on the right side). The Madonna holds a pomegranate in her hand, while instead the Child with his left hand holds a bird with a red spot on its head (although it does not look like a usual goldfinch), an allusion to the Passion.

Also worth noting is the Virgin’s splendid radiated halo bearing the inscription “SI CONFIDIS IN ME SENA ERIS GRATIA PLENA,” which is to say that the wise-sounding motto assures us that the panel originally belonged to a church in the city of Siena. Alessandro Bagnoli supposes that the work came from the church of San Francesco in Siena and tends to identify it with the one signed by Sassetta remembered by Fabio Chigi in 1620 in the Petroni chapel in that very church. The dating is uncertain.

Siena, Sassetta work discovered. It is on display in Massa Marittima

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